Key result
Preoperative skin traction did not significantly reduce pain compared to an under-knee pillow in patients with proximal femoral fractures, but was associated with more skin complications.
Why the study?
Skin and skeletal traction are commonly used for preoperative pain relief in proximal femoral fractures, but the comparative effect of an under-knee pillow was investigated.
Does preoperative skin traction reduce pain more effectively than an under knee pillow in patients with proximal femoral fracture?
RCT (n=73)
Single-blind
Randomly assigned
No
Does preoperative skin traction reduce pain more effectively than an under knee pillow in patients with proximal femoral fracture?
Absolute Event Rate: 2.4% vs 2%
p-value: p=>0.05
Using a pillow under the knee provides similar preoperative pain relief as skin traction in patients with proximal femoral fractures, but avoids the skin complications associated with traction.
Pillow under knee provides similar preoperative pain relief to skin traction with fewer complications; leaves open need for larger trials before changing practice.
Background and Aim: Proximal femoral fracture is one of the most common fractures, especially among elderly people.Skin and skeletal traction are usually used to reduce the pain in the patients before surgery.In this study we investigated the effects of skin traction and use of pillow under knee before surgery on pain relief in the patients with proximal femoral fracture. Material and Methods:This study included patients with proximal femoral fractures referring to Ayatollah Kashani Hospital in Shahrekord in 2016.Patients were randomly assigned to skin traction and under knee pillow groups.Demographic data including gender, age, body mass index and other information such as type of fracture, time interval between the accident and referring to the hospital, the amount of sedatives taken, the time interval between admission and surgery, type of device used for surgical fixation and pain assessment by VAS were obtained after interview with the participants and recorded in a questionnaire. Results:The traction group included 19 men and 19 women with a mean age of 74.81 ± 13.10 years and the under knee pillow group consisted of 15 male and 20 female participants with a mean age of 73.08 ± 13.11 years.The mean pain scores did not show any significant differences at the first visit (traction group 7.31±2.08;pillow group 6.94±2.54)and also on every separate day of the study up to the fifth day of hospitalization in the traction (2.40±2.07)and pillow groups (2±0) (P>0.05).Conclusion: Considering the complications of skin transaction such as skin ulcers and its subsequent cost of treatment, in this study we found that use of pillow under knee was associated with a reduction in pain similar to the traction method and had fewer complications.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Tafti et al. (2020) conducted an RCT in Proximal femoral fracture (n=73). Skin traction vs. Under knee pillow was evaluated on Mean pain score (VAS) on the fifth day of hospitalization (p=>0.05). Preoperative skin traction did not significantly reduce pain compared to an under-knee pillow in patients with proximal femoral fractures, but was associated with more skin complications.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: