Effectiveness of quick relaxation technique on pain associated with chest tube removal among postoperative coronary artery bypass grafting patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Delhi

Abstract

The current burden of coronary artery disease in India is >32 million. Chest tube removal (CTR) is a common procedure in critical care units and post coronary care units and is associated with moderate-to-severe pain. The pain management protocols remain unsatisfactory for most patients and researchers recommend the development and introduction of new protocols. Even with pharmacological management, most patients remember chest removal as a painful and discontented moment. Advanced practice nurses remove chest tubes most often. The aim of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of quick relaxation technique (QRT) on CTR for reducing the pain levels experienced by patients and also adopting it as a routine practice in cardiac surgical units. An experimental design was used. Sixty patients who were posted for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) were selected using purposive consecutive sampling method and randomly allotted to the experimental and control group. QRT was implemented to experimental group patients along with the regular protocol before drain removal. Control group patients underwent the regular protocol followed in surgical intensive care unit. The structured assessment tool was developed and used for data collection, which consisted of demographic data, information related to chest tube and numerical rating scale for pain assessment. Out of the 60 patients majority were in the age group of 60–70 years and majority were male in the control and experimental groups. Control group had mean post-procedure pain score of 5.1 ± 1.14, whereas the experimental group had mean pain score of 3.7 ± 1.05. QRT was highly effective in reducing the pain level on chest tube drain removal of post-CABG patients (Unpaired t-test value of 5.6394 with df 58, P