Background: Subcutaneous anticoagulant injection frequently result in pain, swelling, and bruising at the injection site. Cold compresses are a pain-relieving treatment that works by lowering catecholamine levels, raising endorphin levels, and delaying pain signal transmission to the central nervous system. Aim of the study: To evaluate the effect of cold compresses on pain intensity and ecchymosis among patients receiving a subcutaneous anticoagulant injection. Design: A quasi-experimental research design (study/control group) was utilized. Setting: The research was carried out at Benha University Hospital's Cardiac Care Unit. Participants: A six-month purposive sample of cardiac care unit patients who were treated with subcutaneous anticoagulants (from the beginning of febreuary2021 to the end of July 2021). Tools for gathering data include: Tool I Patient Assessment Tool, Tool Bruising Category Scale, Tool Visual Analogue Pain Rating Scale, and Tool IV Ecchymosis Education Scale are some of the tools used to assess patients. Results: The difference in pain intensity between the study and control groups was highly statistically significant at a p-value of 0.000, with more than half of the control group suffering bruising at the injection site, compared to less than a quarter of the study group. In terms of ecchymosis, more than half of the study group had no ecchymosis, compared to less than a quarter of the control group. Conclusion: Based on the data, it can be concluded that applying cold compresses to the study group reduced pain intensity, bruising, and ecchymosis formation more effectively than in the control group.. Recommendations: To generalize the findings more broadly, the study could be done with bigger sample size. |
