Effects of Vibration and Cold Application on Pain and Anxiety During Intravenous Catheterization

Abstract

To determine the effects of vibration and cold gel pack application on pain and anxiety levels of patients undergoing intravenous (IV) catheterization. A randomized controlled, pretest and post-test experimental study. Catheterization was performed 60seconds before the IV catheterization procedure was started by applying vibration and cold gel pack to patients in the experimental group. Patients in the control group underwent catheterization using standard procedures. The mean pain scores of patients in the experimental group were lower than those of the patients in the control group. Intragroup analysis demonstrated that the mean scores obtained from the state anxiety and trait anxiety inventories after the study were not significantly different from those obtained before the study. Vibration and cold gel pack application is suggested to relive pain during IV catheterization in adults.