The relationship between preoperative fear of pain and postoperative spirometry use and respiratory outcomes in individuals undergoing abdominal surgery

This descriptive and correlational study was planned to determine the relationship between preoperative fear of pain and postoperative spirometer use and respiratory outcomes in individuals undergoing abdominal surgery. The population of the study consisted of patients undergoing abdominal surgery in the general surgery clinics of a university hospital in Istanbul, while the sample consisted of 50 patients who met the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate in the study. Data were collected by Patient Information Form, Fear of Pain Scale-III (FPS-III), Visual Analogue Scale, Vital Signs Monitoring Form, Spirometer Diary and NOC Respiratory Status Assessment Scale. The mean age of the patients was 54.76±13.32 years, 66.0% (n=33) were male, 56% (n=28) did not have any chronic disease, 44.0% (n=22) had surgical intervention experience, 81.8% (n=18) of the patients with surgical experience experienced pain, and the mean duration of pain experience was 1.75±1.65 days. The mean FPS-III score was 63.80±20.26. The mean values of spirometer use were 53.06±31.25 on postoperative day 0, 58.82±18.01 on postoperative day 1, and 65.69±18.16 on postoperative day 2. Statistical significance was found in the NOC indicators of 'Achievement of expected incentive spirometer ', 'Oxygen Saturation', 'Coughing', 'Respiratory Depth', 'Dyspnoea at Rest' and 'Dyspnoea with Mild Physical Activity/Exertion' in terms of the mean scores of the NOC Scale related to three time-dependent measurements on postoperative days 0, 1, and 2 (p<0.01). A statistically significant positive correlation was found between the mean total score of FPS-III and the mean score of Fear of Mild Pain sub-dimension and the mean score of Day 1 NOC Scale (p<0.01). A statistically significant positive correlation was found between the use of spirometer on postoperative day 0 and the mean scores of NOC Scale on postoperative day 0, day 1 and day 2, and between the use of spirometer on postoperative day 1 and the mean scores of NOC Scale on postoperative day 2 (p<0.01). As a result, it was found that the patients' fear of pain was at a moderate level, postoperative spirometer use and NOC Scale mean scores increased with time, there was no statistically significant difference between the preoperative pain level of the patients and spirometer use, there was a statistically significant positive relationship between fear of pain and NOC Scale mean scores, and there was a statistically significant positive relationship between spirometer use and NOC Scale mean scores.