Effect of different cold application materials on pain during chest tube removal: three-arm randomized controlled clinical trial

Background: Chest tube causes severe pain during removal because it attaches to the endothelium in the chest cavity.
Objectives: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of cold application with ice pack and gel pad in the control of pain experienced during chest tube removal.
Methods: The sample of prospective, parallel three-arm (1:1:1), randomized controlled clinical trial consisted of 180 patients in two experimental groups (ice pack/gel pad) and one control group. The primary outcome was effect of cold application materials on severity of pain during chest removal. Secondary outcomes were duration of cold application and analgesic requirements of the patients.
Results: The study found that the cold application using either of the materials reduced the severity of pain and the need for analgesics after the removal of chest tube compared to the control group (p<0.05). But cold application with ice pack allowed the skin to drop to the temperature effective in pain control in a shorter time than gel pad application (p<0.05).
Conclusions: Despite entirely covering the area around the chest tube, the gel pad was more disadvantageous than ice pack in pain control due to the longer duration of cold application.