Abstract

• A quasi-experimental study was conducted to examine the effect of ice pack application to post cardiac surgery toddlers before C-tube removal. Twenty toddlers aged 13 months to 24 months, who were admitted to the hospital for open heart surgery during the period from July, 1993 to October, 1993 were randomly assigned to the experimental or control group. An ice pack was applied to the C-tube insertion site for 8 minutes before C-tube removal for the experimental group. The children were videotaped during the procedure to assess pain behavior and crying time. The score on the Modified Behavioral Pain Scale(MBPS), crying time, and vital signs were measured to determine the effect of ice pack application. The data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U test, Paired t-test, and Pearson corelation coefficient. The result of the study are as follows: 1. There was a significant difference between the experimental group and the control group in pain behavior (U=17.0, p=.01). 2. There was no significant difference between the two groups in crying time. 3. There was a significant difference between the two groups in heart rate(U=24.5, p=.05). 4. There was a significant difference between the two groups in systolic blood pressure(U=24.0, P=.05). 5. There was a significant difference between the two groups in diastolic blood pressure (U=23.0, p=.04). 6. There was no significant difference between the two groups in respiration rate. 7. Pain behavior was significantly correlated with heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and crying time(r=.50, .54 and .59, p<.05). The result showed that the ice pack application was effective to reduce pain related to C-tube removal for the toddlers. From the study, it is recommended that the effectiveness of the cold application to children undergoing different painful procedures be examined to determine the most effective length of cold application to reduce pain in children.

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