Open AccessThe use of ice packs for pain associated with arterial punctures
Author(s) -
Masoud Mayel,
Mohammadreza Bastami,
Arman Azadi
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of emergency medicine, trauma and acute care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.27
H-Index - 5
eISSN - 1999-7094
pISSN - 1999-7086
DOI - 10.5339/jemtac.2016.icepq.44
Subject(s) - medicine , anesthesia , visual analogue scale , heart rate , mean arterial pressure , blood pressure , pain score , arterial blood , surgery , respiratory rate
Background: Arterial punctures for monitoring respiratory problems are one of the most painful procedures in hospitalized patients. The knowledge regarding non-pharmacologic methods of pain management, including cold application is limited. Objective: This aim of this study was to determine if the application of ice packs before the procedure would decrease the pain perception of patients during the arterial puncture. Materials and methods: This experimental study was undertaken among patients admitted to emergency ward in a public educational center affiliated to Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam/Iran. Sixty-one eligible subjects were randomly assigned to two groups. The treatment group (n = 31) received ice packs before arterial puncture, whereas the control group (n = 30) received no intervention for pain management. Pain immediately and 5 minute after the arterial puncture were scored on a visual analog scale (VAS) from 0 to 10. Results: The mean of pain score immediately after the arterial puncture were 3.12 (1.68) and 4.6 (1.56) for treatment and control group, respectively (p 0.05). Patients with previous arterial puncture reported higher pain intensity. Conclusion: Cold packs is a simple, non-invasive and inexpensive technique for pain management before the arterial puncture. However, there is a need for further research regarding this topic.