Effects of postoperative rehabilitation nursing on recovery and quality of life in deep degree Ⅱ lower limb burns patients after dermatoplasty

Abstract

Objective To determine the impact of postoperative rehabilitation nursing on the recovery and quality of life in deep degree Ⅱ lower limb burn patients. Methods A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 68 patients with deep burn admitted to our center between January 2020 and January 2023. The patients were allocated into control group (n=34, conventional postoperative nursing) and intervention group (n=34, conventional postoperative nursing combined with postoperative rehabilitation nursing). In 4 weeks after intervention, wound healing (time of wound healing and wound blood flow recovery) and incidence of postoperative complications were observed. Visual analog scale (VAS) was used to score the pain, and Anxiety Self-assessment Scale (SAS) and Depression Self-assessment Scale (SDS) were employed to assess the patients' negative emotions. Simple Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) was adopted to evaluate the lower limb motor function, and Quality of Life scale (QOL) was conducted for their quality of life. Results After 4 weeks of training, the intervention group obtained a significantly shorter time of wound healing (28.67±4.32 d, thealing=11.555, P < 0.001) and lower incidence of postoperative complications (5.88%, Chi-square=4.221, P < 0.05) when compared with the control group. The interventions obviously reduced the SAS score and SDS score of negative emotions than the baseline scores before training (P < 0.05), with the decreases more statistically significant in the intervention group (P < 0.001). After 4 weeks of training, VAS score, FMA score, and QOL scores were all significantly improved compared with those before (Z value= -6.769, -7.099, -3.026 in the control group, Z value=-7.077, -7.111, -6.108 in the intervention group, P < 0.05). The improvement of pain, lower limb motor function and quality of life were greatly higher in the intervention group than the control group (Z value=-3.116, -5.958, -4.079 after training, P < 0.05). Conclusion Postoperative rehabilitation nursing can significantly promote the recovery of wound healing, reduce the postoperative complications, regulate patients' negative emotions, benefit lower limb motor function recovery earlier, and effectively improve the postoperative quality in the patients with deep Ⅱ lower limb burns.

Keywords

• rehabilitation care
• deep degree ⅱ burn
• wound recovery
• quality of life