# Effect of gum chewing and cold therapy on postoperative cesarean women’s self-assessed pain levels and narcotics use: a comparative study

## TL;DR

This study compares gum chewing and cold therapy for managing pain after cesarean surgery, finding cold therapy more effective in reducing pain and opioid use.

## Contribution

The study introduces cold pack gel as a more effective nonpharmacologic alternative to gum chewing for postoperative pain management in cesarean patients.

## Key findings

- Cold pack gel significantly reduced pain scores compared to gum chewing and the control group.
- Cold therapy decreased opioid use more effectively than gum chewing within 24 hours post-surgery.

## Abstract

One of the most important things for women having cesarean deliveries to focus on is effective pain management. Nursing practice to lessen labor pain may be significantly impacted by the application of a nonpharmacologic treatment.

Evaluate the effect of gum chewing and cold therapy on postoperative cesarean women’s self-assessed pain levels and narcotics use.

A Quasi Experimental intervention design was used in the study at inpatient units of Dar Sahet Elmar`Aa hospital that follow Egypt healthcare authority in Port Said city. Purposive sample of 159 pregnant women who enrolled randomly in the three parallel groups. Two tools were used for collecting data in the study as A self-Administered questionnaire and the visual analog scale (VAS) were used.

The overall mean VAS score among the Cold pack gel group was 4.216 ± 0.716, Gum chewing group was 4.314 ± 0.908, while control group was 5.714 ± 1.232 with statistically significance differences among groups. Furthermore, over one quarter in cold therapy group, less than one quarter in Gum chewing group (32.1 and 28.3%, respectively) stopped taking analgesics 24 h after surgery, compared to only 7.5% of control group.

Cold pack gel and gum chewing offer simple and cost-effective alternatives for postoperative pain management; however, cold pack gel has been shown to be substantially more effective in improving pain scores at four, eight, twelve, and twenty-four hours after surgery. In addition to its impact on reducing the need for opioid prescription drugs.

Trial Registration Number (TRN).

The study protocol was registered by the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Nursing, Port Said University with code number: NUR22 on 6/2/2023.