Abstract
Backround
In the literature, the effect of TENS on acute pain has been investigated, and no
study has been found on its effect on pain associated with VAC application. This randomized
controlled trial was designed to assess the efficacy of TENS application in pain caused
by vacuum applied in acute soft tissue trauma of the lower extremity.
Design and Settings
The study included 40 patients: 20 in the control group, and 20 in the experimental
group and was carried out in a university hospital's plastic and reconstructive surgery
clinic. Data for the study were gathered using the Patient Information form and the
Pain Assessment form. Conventional TENS lasting 30 minutes was applied to the experimental
group patients 1 hour before vacuum (vacuum assisted closure [VAC]) insertion and
removal by the researcher, and TENS was not applied to the control group. The “Numerical
Pain Scale” was used to assess pain in both groups before and after TENS application.
In the statistical analysis of the data, the SPSS 23.0 package program was used. In
all tests, p < .005 was considered statistically significant.
Results
The experimental and control groups of the patients included in the study were homogeneous
in terms of demographic characteristics (p > .05). Furthermore, when the pain levels of the groups were compared over time,
it was discovered that the pain levels of the control group were significantly higher
than the experimental group at the times of VAC insertion (T3) and VAC removal (T6)
(p < .05). Bonferroni test, one of the post hoc tests, was used to determine in-group
significance in both the experimental and control groups, and it was discovered that
the difference was between T6 and all other times (T6-T1, T2, T3, T4, T5).
Conclusions
The results obtained from our study showed that TENS reduced the pain caused by vacuum
applied in acute soft tissue trauma of the lower extremity. It is thought that TENS
may not replace traditional analgesics but may help reduce the level of pain and contribute
to healing by increasing comfort during painful procedures.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 10, 2023
Accepted:
February 4,
2023
Received in revised form:
January 27,
2023
Received:
November 29,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2023 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
