An intervention study of a combined intervention of positioning and hand massage in patients undergoing radiofrequency catheter ablation.
Yun Kyeong Lee, Mihae Im, Haeryun Cho
PMID 36161778WHAT IT FOUND
Head elevation plus hand massage after radiofrequency catheter ablation showed mixed results: the treated group did not show a clear change in total back pain or discomfort, but it had less pain and discomfort than the control group.
Key findings
01Patients receiving 25° upper body elevation plus hand massage showed significantly better changes in back pain and discomfort than the control group at the measured comparisons.
02Within the intervention group, total back pain and total discomfort did not change significantly, while physical discomfort and psychological discomfort decreased.
03The study cannot identify whether the effect came from positioning, hand massage, or their combination because only the combined intervention was compared with routine care.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was not randomised, and the control group was collected before the intervention group, so time or setting differences could affect the results. Only one control group was used, so the separate effects of positioning and hand massage cannot be identified. The researcher performed both the intervention and the measurement, and the first post-test was only 20 minutes after the pre-test. This could add a halo or learning effect. Within the intervention group, total back pain and total discomfort did not change significantly, even though between-group comparisons favoured the intervention. It was a single hospital study with 46 patients, and the discomfort scale was modified for this study.
Declared interests
This study was supported by National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2022R1I1A3072686). The authors report no actual or potential conflicts of interest. The article is partially based on the first author's master's thesis.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the between-group differences as proof that positioning or hand massage alone works. The two were given together, the study was not randomised, and the intervention group's total back pain and discomfort did not show a clear change.