Comparison of postoperative eye pain between tape and moist gauze–tape eye protection in patients undergoing general anesthesia at RSI Purwokerto

Abstrak

Background: General anesthesia reduces the blink reflex and tear production, thereby increasing the risk of postoperative eye pain and discomfort. Eye protection is essential to prevent these complications. This study aimed to compare postoperative eye pain between the use of tape and a combination of moist gauze with tape as eye protection methods in patients undergoing general anesthesia at RSI Purwokerto.

Method: This study used a quantitative, quasi-experimental design. A total of 42 patients were enrolled and equally allocated into two intervention groups: the tape group and the moist gauze–tape combination group. Postoperative eye pain was evaluated using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), and differences between the groups were analyzed with the Mann–Whitney U test.

Results: The findings indicated that participant characteristics were comparable between the two groups in terms of age, sex, and anesthesia duration. Most participants in both groups reported no postoperative eye pain. Statistical analysis using the Mann–Whitney U test demonstrated no significant difference in postoperative eye pain between the tape group and the moist gauze–tape combination group (p = 0.889).

Conclusion: A p-value of 0.889 indicates that both eye protection methods demonstrated comparable effectiveness in preventing postoperative eye pain.