Evaluating Frozen Strawberries as a Strategy for Thirst Management in Patients with Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Thirst sensation in Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) patients is caused by diuretic administration and fluid consumption limitation. Unhandled thirst sensation leads to a disobedient patient in fluid consumption limitation that causes the patient condition to worsen. This research aimed to analyse the frozen strawberries administration's effects on the thirst sensation in a patient with CHF . MATERIAL AND METHOD: The method used was a quasi-experiment with a pre-test and post-test control group design. The number of respondents was 34 patients divided into two groups: 17 respondents in the intervention group and 17 respondents in the control group. The sampling technique was stratified random sampling based on NYHA classification in the respondents. Frozen strawberries were given to the intervention group, while ice cubes were given to the control group. All the data were analyzed using a t-test.RESULT:The results showed that the mean score of the thirst intensity of the intervention and control group was 4.44 and 2.35, respectively. The independent t-test of the mean difference of thirst intensity pre and post-test between the intervention and control groups was p=0.001. According to the paired t-test analysis, the thirst intensity score between pre-test and post-test was p<0.001, from moderate to low thirst intensity. CONCLUSION:Frozen strawberries were statistically effective in reducing the thirst intensity in a patient with CHF.

Thirst in heart failure: A scoping review

“…Fifteen of the 26 studies discussed interventions and mitigation strategies for tHF. Interventions mainly included the use of chewing gum (Allida et al, 2021; Hou et al, 2021 ), saliva substitute (Robb, 2016 ), frozen strawberries (Hudiyawati & Suswardany, 2021 ), lemon water spray (Bai et al, 2022), liquid intake recommended based on body weight (Holst et al, 2008 ), acupoint massage (Lao & Huang, 2020 ; Pan et al, 2022 ), ear‐point pressing beans (Hou et al, 2021 ; Wang & Zhou, 2019 ), ginseng plum decoction (Pan et al, 2022 ), black plum soup (Zhang et al, 2021 ) and improved five‐juice drink (Xi et al, 2022 ). Suggested mitigation strategies included the use of artificial saliva, mouthwash, cucumber, mint, ice cubes, frozen fruits in ice cubes, a small amount of water, buttermilk, coconut water and isotonic drinks, and brushing teeth (Allida et al, 2016 ; Allida, Inglis, Davidson, Newton, et al, 2015 ; Shi et al, 2016 ; Thapa et al, 2021 ; van der Wal et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Currently, recommended strategies for relieving tHF by medical professionals include—the use of ice chips or cubes, gum, sip, mints, frozen fruits in trays, lemonade and artificial saliva, gargling and brushing teeth (Allida et al, 2016 ; Thapa et al, 2021 ; van der Wal et al, 2020 ). In addition, there are several interventional studies on tHF, including ice water replacement of warm water (Jia et al, 2020 ), providing frozen strawberries (Hudiyawati & Suswardany, 2021 ), or chewing gum (Allida et al, 2020 ; Hou et al, 2021 ), use of saliva substitute (Robb, 2016 ) and traditional Chinese medicine nursing techniques (Lao & Huang, 2020 ; Wang & Zhou, 2019 ; Ye et al, 2017 ; Zhou et al, 2022 ); however, there is a lack of summary articles on knowledge about tHF. Although a review of tHF has been published in recent years, the most recent article was published 4 years ago, in which only a few databases were searched and only English articles were included (Allida et al, 2018 ; Allida, Inglis, Davidson, Lal, et al, 2015 ; Allida, Inglis, Davidson, Newton, et al, 2015 ; Waldréus et al, 2013 ).…”

Pflegebasierte Beratung zu Durst bei Patienten mit fortgeschrittener chronischer Herzinsuffizienz

“…The main aim of implementing a counselling intervention is to improve self-care competencies and reduce patients’ symptom burden. There are currently only few intervention studies that have tested single interventions with the aim of thirst reduction in patients with CHF [ 3 , 7 , 10 ]. Complex interventions were not studied.…”

“…A pilot study ( n = 71) testing gum chewing as an intervention showed a significant reduction in thirst after 4 and 14 days [ 3 ]. Hudiyawati and Suswardany [ 10 ] analysed the effect of frozen strawberries compared with ice cubes ( n = 34). Thirst intensity (visual analog scale [VAS], 0–10) decreased in both groups ( p = 0.001).…”

Exploring the Allure of Strawberries

“…Researchers conducted a study on volunteers who intake strawberries on regular basis. It was concluded that people who consumed strawberries on regular basis have lower risk of hypertension (Hudiyawati and Suswardany, 2021;Tarantul and Eliseeva, 2019).…”