Impact of Planned Nursing Care on Patient’s Thirst and Mouth Dryness in the Intensive Care Unit

Background: Thirst and dry mouth are common problem in the intensive care unit (ICU) and these are associated with physical discomfort. Thirst should be treated as thirst persisting is associated with multiple complications Aim of study was to Determine the impact of planned nursing care on thirst and mouth dryness in the intensive care unit. Research design: A Quasi-experimental study design was used. Setting: the study was conducted in post-operative intensive care unit at Assiut main University Hospital. Subjects: Convenient sample of 60 patients were included in the study and they were assigned randomly to a control group and an intervention group. Four tools were used in this study: I: Patient assessment sheet, II: acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE II) Score, III: Thirst assessment sheet, IV: Oral Condition Assessment Checklist Results: The Planned nursing care was used had significant reduction of thirst intensity and dry mouth (P<0.01) for study group patients. The results showed that 31% of study group versus 9% of control group had no thirst and 68.4% of study group versus 99.9% of control group had mild thirst in the 5th day of study Conclusion: Planned nursing care with sterile cold water spray and lubricating the lips with glycerin lip moisturizer were effective in reducing thirst intensity and mouth dryness. Recommendations: Provide continuous assessment of thirst and mouth dryness. Emphasize on educating nurses about the importance of management of thirst and mouth dryness the intensive care unit through planned nursing intervention.