Thirst in heart failure: A scoping review.
Yaya Chen, Jin Ding, Yingbo Xi and 5 others
PMID 37247329WHAT IT FOUND
Thirst is common in heart failure, but incidence and related factors varied widely.
Fluid restriction evidence is inconsistent, and thirst interventions were not compared, so no measure is shown to work best.
Key findings
01Thirst in heart failure was common but varied across countries: 88.6% in one Chinese study, 47.0% in Spain and 34.0% in the Netherlands.
02Fluid restriction is a main self-care method for heart failure, but research on whether it worsens thirst is inconsistent.
03The review reported many thirst interventions, including chewing gum, saliva substitute, frozen strawberries, lemon water spray, acupoint massage and ear-point pressing beans, but did not compare them.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a scoping review, and the included study quality was not formally assessed. Only English and Chinese articles were included, so relevant work in other languages may be missing. Most included studies came from China and Sweden, so findings may not apply broadly. Only five studies reported thirst incidence, and rates varied widely. Evidence about sex, age, body mass index and fluid restriction was inconsistent. Interventions were described but not compared, and many were studied in only a small number of reports. The review did not perform optional consultation with stakeholders.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the listed thirst interventions, such as chewing gum, ice cubes or acupoint massage, as proven treatments for heart failure thirst. The review included only a small number of intervention studies, did not compare them, and did not assess study quality, so it cannot show which measure works best.