The Examination of Sleep Quality and Pain in the Early Post-Operative Period in Chest Surgery Patients

Background: The nursing care and intervations play an important role in prevention the sleep problem and pain. Aim: This study was performed in order to examine pain and sleep quality in chest surgery patients. Methods: Descriptive and cross sectional study was prospectively obtained from 118 chest surgery patients in the University Hospital between January and December 2014. For data collection, a questionnaire prepared by the researchers, the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, and the Visual Analog Scale were used. Descriptive analyses were performed, with a 5% significance level. Results: Among the patients with a mean age of 53.30±15.96, it was found that 72.9% had continuous pain before surgery. The sleep qualities of those patients who had sleep problems before surgery were found to be worse compared to those who didn't experience sleep problems previously in a statistically significant manner (U=8,994; p< 0.001). The pain scores of patients with bad sleep quality in the first feeding post operation were found to be higher in a statistically significant manner. Conclusion: The postoperative sleep qualities of patients who have sleep problems before surgery and who smoke are negatively affected. Patients with bad sleep quality after the first postoperative feeding experience more pain.