Managing pain using heat and cold therapy.

Full Abstract

Evidence supports the use of superficial heating and cooling of tissues to provide pain relief in low to moderate levels of acute and chronic pain in adults, but there are no standards or guidelines in children's centres across the UK for administering these modalities in children, so a project was undertaken to develop these locally. Evidence from the literature was used to identify best practice in relation to equipment, safety and infection control. Implementation was supported by educational input and a detailed protocol for assessment and application of the devices. Three years after their introduction a review of the guidelines and an audit demonstrated that these modalities have been beneficial, providing cost-effective, holistic care for children experiencing pain in hospital.

Author information

Author/s: Lane, Elaine (E); Latham, Tracy (T);

Affiliation: Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Evaluation Studies; Journal Article

Journal: Paediatric nursing (Paediatr Nurs), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Jul; vol 21 (issue 6) : pp 14-8

Dates: Created 2009/07/23; Completed 2009/09/18;

PMID: 19623797, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 9/18/2009)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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