EFFECT OF LOCAL COOLING APPLICATION ON PAIN INTENSITY AND SIZE OF HEMATOMA AMONG PATIENTS WITH INGUINAL HERNIA REPAIR
EFFECT OF LOCAL COOLING APPLICATION ON PAIN INTENSITY AND SIZE OF HEMATOMA AMONG PATIENTS WITH INGUINAL HERNIA REPAIR
Dr.Mishmisha El Sayed Ibrahim - Lecturer of Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing-Cairo University, Egypt
Dr. Hala Ibrahim Abo Deif - Lecturer of Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing-Cairo University, Egypt
ABSTRACT
A large proportion of patients' experiences sever post-surgical pain following inguinal hernia repair within the first 24 hrs post operatively. Pain control has been shown to improve postoperative recovery; also, poor pain control can lead to the development of chronic pain. Local cooling is a widely used technique in the immediate care of traumatic injury protocols for postsurgical rehabilitation and treatment of pain. We hypothesized that patients who receive local cooling would report lower pain scores as a primary outcome. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the effect of local cooling on pain intensity and size of hematoma among patients with inguinal hernia repair. Design: One group pretest/posttest quasi-experimental research design. Subjects: A convenient sample of 70 adult male patients immediately post inguinal hernia repair over a period of six months. Setting: Surgical Departments at one of educational hospital in Egypt. Tools: Three tools used to gather data (1) Demographic and medical data sheet (2) Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for pain intensity (3) Hematoma Formation and Size Assessment Scale. Results: there was a highly statistical significant difference in the mean pain intensity score before and after ice application at 6, 12 and, 24 hours postoperatively at (P-value ≤ 0.005) with total mean difference 9.642 ± 4.010 and the diameter of hematoma decreased. The results of the study revealed that ice bag application to the surgical site in patients after inguinal hernia repair effective in reducing postoperative pain intensity and hematoma size, it considered cost effective intervention. Recommendation: Nurses should consider using this technique while developing evidence-based protocols to care for patients with inguinal hernia repair.
