Presentations summaries

1/Introduction :
Postoperative nausea and vomiting can increase to as high as 70% after thyroidectomy. Nausea-vomiting after thyroidectomy can lead to complications such as fluid-electrolyte imbalances and increased intracranial pressure. Acupressure is a non-pharmacological treatment method. Korean hand acupressure is a new method developed by Professor Park Jae Woo. This study aims to determine the effectof Korean hand acupressure applied after thyroidectomy on postoperative pain, nausea, vomiting, and retching of number and severity.

Method :
It is a randomized controlled trial. The protocol was prepared by the SPIRIT 2013 (Standard Protocol Items : Recommendations for Interventional Trials) checklist. It was conducted between February 2021 and June 2022 with 42 patients (21 in the intervention group and 21 in the control group) who underwent thyroidectomy at a hospital. In the intervention group, Korean hand acupressure was applied using mung beanseeds for 3 minutes, starting 30 minutes before anesthesia. The application was repeated every 2 hours after surgery and discontinued at the 8th hour. The control group received standard postoperative treatment and care. Pain severity, antiemetic use, and Rhodes Index scores for nausea, vomiting, and retching were assessed at the 2nd, 6th, and 24th hours after surgery.

Conclusion :
In both the intervention and control groups, the number and severity of nausea and vomiting were highest at the 6th hour after surgery. Korean hand acupressure was found to be an effective nursing intervention in reducing the number and severity of retching at the 6th hour after thyroidectomy and also decreased the need for antiemetic use.

*The study was produced from a doctoral thesis. It was accepted on November 18, 2022 at Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa Graduate Education Institute, Surgical Diseases Nursing Doctorate Program.

**It was published in the Journal of Education and Health Promotion (DOI: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_1812_23).

2/ Introduction :
Thoracic surgery patients often experience severe acute postoperative pain (21-67%) and respiratory depression (30-50%), which are mainly linked to insufficient pain control.

Method :
The study commenced in March 2025 at a Cardiothoracic Surgery Training and Research Hospital. The Power analysis was performed by G-Power3.1 program and the sample size were determined to be 80 individuals, considering possible data losses with an effect size of 0.61, 1-α=95%, 1-β=80%. Permissions were obtained for the study. Acupressure was applied to the experimental group for a minute at each point on the acupressure points (LI11,LU1,LU2,LU7,LU9,LU5,TE5,TE6,PC4,PC6,LI4) determined at the 2nd, 6th and 24th hours after surgery. Pain levels (VAS), vital signs, and lung volume were evaluated during rest, breathing, and coughing exercises. Data were analyzed using the SPSS27.0 program, and independent sample ANOVA and Bonferroni tests were used for descriptive statistics and intergroup comparisons. The significance level wasaccepted as p<.05.

Results :
According to preliminary results (n=10), the age of the patients was 57.30±15.86 years, and thethoracotomy incision size was 9.30±3.16cm. Sociodemographic characteristics, medical characteristics, andpreoperative lung volumes were similar. Post-thoracotomy pain scores were lower in the experimental groups compared to the control group at the 6th hour post operatively during breathing-coughing exercise and at the 24th hour during rest and after coughing exercise (p<.05).

Conclusion :
According to preliminary results, the acupressure combination is effective in reducing post-thoracotomy pain associated with breathing-coughing exercise after 6 hours. This result shows that acupressure can be used as a supportive approach to pain management and can contribute positively to thehealing process. Acupressure is a fast, effective, and safe nursing intervention in post-thoracotomy pain management.