[Cold or hot sitz baths in the emergency treatment of acute anal pain due to anorectal disease? Results of a randomised clinical trial].
BACKGROUND
The popular belief advocates the use of sitz (sitting) baths with cold water for the treatment of acute anal pain, but clinical practice guides recommend the use of hot water for its known effect on the at-rest anal pressure.


OBJECTIVE
The objective of the study was to examine the analgesic effect on the quality of life, manometer data and clinical progress, of the two temperatures in sitz baths in patients with anal pain.


METHODS
A randomised clinical trial on patients with acute anal pain due to haemorrhoids or anal fissures, divided into Group 1: Sitz baths with water at a temperature of less than 15 degrees C, and Group 2: Baths with a water temperature above 30 degrees C. The analgesia was the same in both groups. An analysis was made of the pain at 7 days (visual analogue scale), quality of life (SF-36), anal at-rest pressure and disease progress.


RESULTS
Of the 27 eligible patients, 24 were randomised (Group 1: n=12 y Group 2: n=12). There were no statistical differences in pain, but it remained stable in Group 1, but gradually decreased in the patients of Group 2, the difference being in the pain scores on the first day compared to the seventh in Group 2 (p=0.244). The rest of the variables were similar.


CONCLUSIONS
There were no statistically significant differences in pain control from day 1 to day 7 in the Group with sitz baths with hot water. (ISRCTN Number: 50105150).
Maestre
Yolanda
Y
Unidad Cirugía Colorrectal, Hospital Universitario del Mar, Barcelona, España.
Parés
David
D
Salvans
Silvia
S
Ibáñez-Zafón
Inés
I
Nve
Esther
E
Pons
Maria-José
MJ
Martínez-Casas
Isidro
I
Pascual
Marta
M
Pera
Miguel
M
Grande
Luis
L
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001003:Anal Canal; D017679:Cryotherapy; D005260:Female; D005401:Fissure in Ano / Q000150:complications*; D006484:Hemorrhoids / Q000150:complications*; D006358:Hot Temperature / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D006875:Hydrotherapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D059408:Pain Management; D011446:Prospective Studies