Objective: The objective was to examine the incidence of constipation, and the preventive measures taken in relation with postoperative pain treatment with opioids at two orthopaedic surgery wards. Methods: The participants were patients that had undergone surgery in the back, hip or thigh. They were selected through systematic selection and a total of 46 electronic health records were examined. The factors investigated and tested for correlation with constipation were the usage of laxatives, daily fluid-intake and early mobilisation. Results: Totally, 26.1 % of the patients became constipated, and laxatives were prescribed to 65.2 % of the patients. Doctors prescribed 53.3 % of the laxatives, nurses 33.3 % and for the remaining 13.3 % it was uncertain who had written the prescription. Usage of laxatives seemed to cause constipation (p=0,025), whereas there was no correlation between constipation and early mobilization. The documentation regarding daily fluid-intake was insufficient and no correlation test could be performed. Conclusions: This study failed to demonstrate that usage of laxatives and early mobilization prevents constipation in patients postoperatively treated with opioids. There was a need for increased education about constipation and its preventing measures for health care workers.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-166452 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Holmqvist, Sandra, Noredal Throbäck, Ingela |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för folkhälso- och vårdvetenskap, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för folkhälso- och vårdvetenskap |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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