sleeping or involved in physical therapy. These circumstances
simply necessitated rescheduling the massage intervention; no
major impediments to successful delivery of massage were noted.
We had anticipated that intravenous lines and drainage tubes
might be impediments to the massage therapist’s ability to work
with the patients. This difficulty may have been mitigated by the
fact that the massage therapist had previously been employed as
an occupational therapist in the same hospital and had already
had substantial experience in working with such patients.
Nurses caring for the participants were interviewed to assess
their opinion of the usefulness of massage, as well as whether it
impeded the flow of patient care. Comments were universally
favorable about the role of massage in the postoperative care setting.
Because of the relatively short duration of the massage therapy and
the scheduling protocols available to nurses and the massage therapist,
conflicts with patient care activities were minimal.
3.4. Adverse events
No study participant reported an adverse event.
3.5. Satisfaction
Baseline satisfaction has historically been high for patients
undergoing surgery in the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery at
Mayo Clinic. This history was borne out in the high satisfaction
scores of both groups. The mean satisfaction score for patients in
the control group was 8.6; for patients in the massage therapy
group, it was 9.2 (P ¼.08).