Observational studyJournal of clinical nursing2023
Prevalence of and risk factors for thirst in the intensive care unit: An observational study.
Observational study in Journal of clinical nursing, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- Demographic, perioperative, biochemical and illness-severity predictors of thirst in critically ill patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Internal medicine journal · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of Non-Pharmacological Interventions on Degree of Thirst and Oral Mucosal Moisture in Critically Ill Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nursing in critical care · 2026Pooled it
- Risk factors of thirst amongst critically ill and patients undergoing surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Irish journal of medical science · 2026Pooled it
- Prevalence, risk factors, and treatment methods of thirst in critically ill patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Timing of early water intake post-general anaesthesia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC anesthesiology · 2024Pooled it
- Mini-mint ice cubes for early postoperative thirst relief in orthopedic patients undergoing general anesthesia: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Effects of oral fluid in post-anesthesia care unit under ultrasound monitoring on postoperative recovery quality in patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Trial
- Effects of cold spray on thirst, frequency of oral care, and pain of general surgery intensive care unit patients.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Thirst level trajectories and influencing factors in critically ill patients based on a group-based trajectory model: A prospective observational study.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2026Article
- Persistent Thirst and Its Clinical Correlates in Critically Ill Adults: A Prospective Observational Study.Nursing in critical care · 2026Observational
- Article
- Trajectories of oral mucosal dryness and multidimensional influencing factors in patients undergoing spine surgery: a prospective longitudinal study.BMC oral health · 2026Article
- Hydration status, thirst discomfort, and ocular surface health among older adults in Türkiye: a cross-sectional study.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Thirst in End-Stage Liver Disease: From Symptom Disregard to a Multidisciplinary Clinical Pathway and Future Perspectives: A Narrative Review.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2026Review
- Epidemiology of pain, delirium, psychiatric disorders, discomfort and sedation-analgesia management in the intensive care unit: a one-day nationwide study.Critical care (London, England) · 2025Article
- Thirst in ICU Patients: A Scoping Review.Cureus · 2025Review
- Construction of an assessment scale for thirst severity in critically ill patients and its reliability and validity.Journal of clinical nursing · 2025Article
- Construction of Thirst Intervention Program for Awake Patients With Transoral Tracheal Intubation in ICU: A Mixed-Method Study.Nursing research and practice · 2025Article
- Independent risk factors for thirst in hemodialysis patients: female sex, sodium profiling dialysis, and xerostomia.American journal of translational research · 2025Article
- Development of safety protocols for managing thirst in post-extubated and tracheostomized patients.Revista latino-americana de enfermagem · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
AIM AND
objectivesThis study investigated the incidence of thirst and contributing factors in intensive care unit (ICU) patients by analysing differences in physiologic, psychological, and disease- and environment-related parameters in ICU patients with vs without thirst.
backgroundLittle is known about the factors that influence thirst, and there are no standardised methods for identifying at-risk patients in the ICU. Previous studies generalised the risk of thirst in ICU patients because of a lack of data on relevant variables. Here, we examined the factors contributing to thirst based on symptom management theory.
designProspective descriptive design.
methodsPhysiologic, psychological, disease-related and environment-related data were collected for 301 patients from 4 ICUs (medical, surgical, cardiac and emergency ICUs) of a hospital from 15 December 2017-10 July 2019 through a screening interview, questionnaires and from electronic medical records. The data were analysed with descriptive statistics, the t-test and chi-squared test, and by logistic regression. Binary stepwise logistic regression was used to identify thirst-associated factors. The findings are reported according to the STROBE checklist for cross-sectional studies.
resultsIn total, 210/301 (69.8%) ICU patients experienced thirst. Risk factors were nil per os order (odds ratio [OR] = 4.10, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.44-11.69), surgery (OR = 2.96, 95% CI: 1.11-7.93), high glucose (OR = 3.36, 95% CI: 1.01-11.17) and greater disease severity (OR = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.02-1.24).
conclusionThirst is common in ICU patients. Timely detection of patients' thirst and identification of those at high risk by ICU nurses can ensure the implementation of effective and safe interventions. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The results of this study highlight the need to evaluate thirst symptoms in patients with severe disease and develop relief strategies for fasting, perioperative, and hyperglycaemic patients and others who are at high risk of thirst.
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