Cold therapy for the management of pain associated with deep breathing and coughing post-cardiac surgery.
BACKGROUND
Coughing has been identified as the most painful experience post cardiac surgery.


METHODS
Participants (n = 32), in a randomized crossover trial, applied a frozen gel pack to their sternal incision dressing before performing deep breathing and coughing (DB & C) exercises. Pain scores from 0 to 10 at rest were compared with pain scores post DB & C with and without the gel pack. Participants were also asked to describe their sensations with the frozen gel pack, as well as their preferences for gel pack application.


RESULTS
The repeated measures analysis of variance revealed a significant reduction in pain scores between pre- and post-application of the gel pack (F = 28.69, p < .001). There were 22 (69%) participants who preferred the application of the gel pack compared with no gel pack. All 32 (100%) participants would reapply the gel pack in the future.


CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrates that cold therapy can be used to manage sternal incisional pain when DB & C.
Chailler
Myrianne
M
University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON. mchai104@uottawa.ca
Ellis
Jacqueline
J
Stolarik
Anne
A
Woodend
Kirsten
K
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001945:Breathing Exercises / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D017679:Cryotherapy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009864:Ontario; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000379:methods; D012720:Severity of Illness Index