Background: patients who have chest tubes removal (CTR) following cardiac surgery are
often experience a variety of discomfort, so that relaxation technique using slow deep breathing
(SDB) exercise may be effective to minimize and alleviate their pain intensity. Aim of the study:
this study was conducted to assess the effect of relaxation technique on pain intensity during chest
tube removal following cardiac surgery through the following;(1) assess medical data and pain
intensity of patients with chest tube following cardiac surgery, (2) implement relaxation technique
using slow deep-breathing exercise during chest tube removal (3) evaluate the effect of relaxation
technique using SDB on pain intensity among the patients during chest tube removal following
cardiac surgery. Design: A quasi-experimental design (study and control groups) was utilized to
achieve the aim. Setting: This study was conducted at cardiothoracic surgical intensive care unit at
Cardiac Academy affiliated at Ain Shams University. Sample: A purposive subject of (136) critical
ill adult patients, subdivided into two groups (study and control). Tools: Data was collected using
three tools 1) Patients' interviewing questionnaire .2) Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). 3) Relaxation
Technique observational checklist. Results: The present study revealed that pain intensity during
CTR was significantly alleviated among the study group compared to the control group. Conclusion:
The results of this study concluded that, level of patient's performance in the study group improved
after the relaxation technique intervention (This supported the first hypothesis). Also, relaxation
technique had a positively significant effect regarding alleviating pain intensity for the study group
of patients during chest tube removal following cardiac surgery compared with the control group
(This supported the second hypothesis). Recommendations: The importance of applying slow deep
breathing exercise combined with described analgesic for all patients during chest tube removal
following cardiac surgery to alleviate their pain.