Effects of non-pharmacological interventions on pain in wound patients during dressing change: A systematic review.
Yanfei Ma, Yeping Li, Chunyan Wang and 5 others
PMID 38391098WHAT IT FOUND
During dressing changes, VR, visual distraction, guided imagery, religious or spiritual care and foot reflexology may reduce pain in some trials.
Hypnosis and jaw relaxation did not reduce pain. Evidence was weak.
Key findings
01The included VR trials reported that VR distraction reduced pain during dressing changes.
02Visual distraction reduced pain severity, while auditory distraction reduced anxiety only in the included auditory and visual distraction trial.
03Hypnosis and jaw relaxation did not reduce pain in the included trials.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The included randomised trials were rated quality B, and none were rated A, so bias remains possible. Blinding was often limited because participants and measurers could know the intervention. The trials varied in wound type, age, intervention and pain scale, so results could not be pooled. Most interventions were tested only once, except VR distraction, so findings for individual methods are limited. Some trials compared a non-drug method added to standard care or standard pharmacological analgesia, so the effect of the non-drug method alone cannot always be isolated. The authors described the overall strength of evidence as weak.
Declared interests
The authors reported no funding and no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat VR, visual distraction, guided imagery, religious or spiritual care, or foot reflexology as proven pain relief for dressing changes. The review included only weak-quality, heterogeneous trials, and hypnosis and jaw relaxation did not reduce pain.