Effect of Cold Application on Chest Incision Pain Due to Deep Breathing and Cough Exercises

We determined the effect of cold application after coronary artery bypass graft surgery on chest incision pain due to deep breathing and coughing exercises. Thoracotomy performed for coronary artery bypass graft surgery is one of the most painful surgical procedures. This pain prevents deep breathing and effective coughing. These problems increase the risk of morbidity in the postoperative period.

This study aimed to determine the effect of cold application after CABG surgery on chest incision pain due to deep breathing and cough exercises.

Experimental study with control group and repeated measurements.

Patients were selected through convenience sampling in the Cardiovascular Surgery Intensive Care Unit at a hospital.

The study was conducted with 57 patients who underwent open heart surgery (29 and 28 in the experimental and control groups, respectively).

Repeated pain assessment was performed before, immediately after, and 5 min after deep breathing and coughing exercises performed in 4 periods at 2-h intervals. The first pain assessment was performed 24 h postoperatively. In the first and third assessments of the experimental group, pain was recorded before the exercise; the exercise was performed 15 min after cold gel pack application to the incision area. Pain was assessed before, immediately after, and 5 min after exercise using the Short- Form McGill Melzack Pain Questionnaire.

Reduction in pain severity within and between the groups was statistically significant in the first and third evaluations (p = .001).

The results provide evidence to support the use of cold gel pack.