Effects of menthol on thirst during surgery patients fasting: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies

Abstract

Aims: We aim to analyse the effect of menthol on thirst intensity and thirst comfort in surgical patients.

Background: Menthol has achieved good results in quenching thirst in patients in intensive care units, but its safety and reliability in perioperative fasting patients are unknown.

Design: A systematic review with meta-analysis of intervention studies was performed.

Data sources: We used Chinese and English databases from their dates of inception to May 2022. Literature was retrieved from PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, CINHAL, SinoMed, CNKI, Wanfang and VIP database.

Review methods: Two reviewers independently examined the records according to the eligibility criteria and extracted the data of each included study.

Results: A total of seven studies were identified in this review, which included 537 surgical patients. Overall, menthol reduced thirst intensity in surgical patients and decreased thirst discomfort. Further subgroup analysis revealed that the menthol intervention significantly improved thirst intensity in surgical patients during preoperative and postoperative fasting periods. The Egger's tests showed no significant bias (p = 0.113 and 0.553, thirst intensity and thirst discomfort, respectively).

Conclusion: Menthol intervention effectively improved thirst intensity and thirst discomfort during fasting in surgical patients, but more large-scale, multicentre randomized controlled trials are required to confirm these findings further.

Keywords: menthol; meta‐analysis; systematic review; thirst; xerostomia.