Effects of localized cryotherapy on the severity of thoracic pain in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting

Background: Open heart surgery is associated with severe postoperative pain due to the incision of chest wall anatomical components. Cryotherapy is a simple, cost-efficient, non-pharmacological method of pain relief. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of localized cryotherapy on the severity of thoracic pain in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Methods: This clinical trial was conducted on 50 patients undergoing CABG in a teaching hospital in Zahedan, Iran in 2015. Patients were selected via convenience sampling and randomly allocated to two groups of intervention and control (n=25). Initially, postoperative pain was measured after three cycles of deep breathing and coughing using the visual analogue scale (VAS). In the intervention group, ice packs were placed on the chest wound dressing of the patients at five-minute intervals for 20 minutes. Afterwards, both groups received emotional support for 15 minutes, and pain scores were measured again. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 21 using Chi-square, independent and paired t-test, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).

Results: Mean pain scores before the intervention in the intervention and control groups were 60.16±13.45 and 58.64±14.42, respectively. After localized cryotherapy, these values were 45.16±15.25 in the intervention group and 58.60±14.40 in the control group (P<0.001).

Conclusion: According to the results of this study, localized cryotherapy could reduce the severity of thoracic pain caused by coughing and deep breathing in patients undergoing CABG. Therefore, this method is recommended as a non-pharmacological method for pain relief.