The Effect Of Respiratory Exercise After Laparoscopic Surgery On Pain, Anxiety, Nausea-Vomiting And Respiratory Parameters
Phase: NA
Conditions: Laparoscopic Surgery, Breathing Exercise
Sponsor: Bartın Unıversity

THE EFFECT OF RESPIRATORY EXERCISE AFTER LAPAROSCOPIC 
SURGERY ON PAIN, ANXIETY, NAUSEA-VOMITING AND RESPIRATORY 
PARAMETERS 
 
Suna UZUN 
 
Thesis Advisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elif KARAHAN 
Laparoscopic surgery is a form of treatment that provides the desired result with smaller 
incisions, a more aesthetic, stress-free and less painful experience. Although it offers less pain 
than open surgery, patients experience intense pain in the postoperative period. Breathing 
exercises reduce the level of anxiety in the postoperative period, increase sleep quality and 
accelerate recovery. It is among the duties and responsibilities of nurses working in surgical 
clinics to provide breathing exercise training to patients in the preoperative period and to ensure 
that they are applied in the postoperative period. Although there are studies in the literature 
showing that respiratory exercise in surgical patients relieves pain, no study has been found in 
which anxiety, nausea-vomiting and respiratory parameters are included. The aim of this study 
is to examine the effects of respiratory exercise applied to laparoscopic surgery patients on 
postoperative pain, anxiety, nausea-vomiting and respiratory parameters. 
The randomized controlled intervention type study was conducted between September 2022 
and August 2023 at the General Surgery Clinic of Bartın State Hospital. The sample consisted 
of 90 patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery. The patients included in the study were 
randomly assigned to 2 groups. Patients who met the research criteria were provided with a 
computer-generated sequencing to be assigned as 45 intervention and 45 control groups. The 
sample power was calculated as 0.86 with 0.05 error and 0.65 effect size, according to the 
posthoc calculation result with the G-power 3.1 program. 
Information Form, Visual Comparison Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Scale, Form for Evaluation 
of Nausea-Vomiting, and Respiratory Monitoring Form were used to collect research data. 
SPSS 21.00 statistical package program was used to evaluate the data. Fisher Exact, Chi-square 
test, Student T-Test, Mann-Whitney U-Test, Paired Sample T-Test and ANOVA test methods 
were used to analyze the data after the program. 
The decrease in pain (p=0.104; p<0.01), nausea (p=0.783; p=0.018), state (p=0.068; p<0.01) 
scores measured at 0 and 24 hours postoperatively in the intervention group; the increase in 
SpO2value (p=0.713; p<0.01) was found to be statistically significant. In comparisons within 

the group, there was no statistically significant difference between the respiratory rates of the 
intervention and control groups (p>0.05), while a significant difference was found between the 
mean pain scores and SpO2values at the 0th and 24th hours in the patients in the intervention 
group (p<0.05). State Anxiety Scale mean scores evaluated at the 24th postoperative hour were 
found to be statistically significant, with the control group having a higher anxiety score than 
the intervention group (p<0.05). 
In conclusion; in this study, it was found that respiratory exercise applied in the post-surgical 
period had a positive effect on pain, anxiety, nausea-vomiting and respiratory parameters. In 
line with this result, it is suggested that nurses should use non-pharmacological breathing 
exercises more effectively in patient treatment and care. 
 
Keywords: Laparoscopic surgery, respiratory exercise, pain, anxiety