Investigation of the effect of cold application on the pain associated with Jackson-Pratt drain removal in kidney transplant patients

The study was conducted as a randomized controlled trial to investigate the effect of cold application on pain associated with Jackson-Pratt drain removal in kidney transplant patients. The study was performed at İstinye University Hospital Liv Hospital Bahçeşehir Organ Transplant Clinic with a total of 76 kidney transplant patients, including 38 in the experimental group and 38 in the control group. Data were obtained through the Patient Information Form and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). In the experimental group, cold application was administered to the drain site prior to Jackson-Pratt drain removal, whereas no intervention was implemented in the control group. In the experimental group, pain was assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) prior to the application of cold therapy, whereas in the control group, pain was performed before Jackson-Pratt drain removal (first measurement). Subsequently, pain levels were assessed immediately after drain removal (second measurement) and 15 minutes post-procedure (third measurement) in both groups. For data analysis, frequency, percentage, t-test, chi-square test, and two-way mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used. A statistically significant difference was found between the second and third pain score measurements of the experimental and control groups (p<0.001), demonstrating that cold application effectively reduced pain in the experimental group. Furthermore, cold application significantly decreased the need for analgesics in the experimental group (p<0.001). In the experimental group, the second and third measurement pain levels were found to be higher in female (p<0.05). In conclusion, cold application was found to be an effective intervention in reducing pain and analgesic requirements during Jackson-Pratt drain removal. These findings suggest that cold application may be utilized as a valuable nursing intervention for pain management following Jackson-Pratt drain removal in kidney transplant patients.