Application effects of different preoperative cold compress methods in patients with closed tibia and fibula fractures
Objective To explore the effect of different cold compress methods applied to patients with closed tibia and fibula fractures before surgery.Methods A prospective study was conducted on 222 cases of closed tibia and fibula fractures following high-energy trauma,who were all treated at the First People's Hospital of Suqian from Jun.2022 to Jun.2023.Among them,there were 120 males and 102 females aged 18-69 years,with an average age of 50.8 years.Based on the admission time,patients were divided into Group A(continuous cold compress)and Groups B-D(continuous cold compress until the peak of swelling and then changed into every 1 h cold compress with 30 min,1 h or 2 h pause).After severe swelling subsided,patients received surgery and then cold compress treatment was stopped.The swelling value of the affected limb and numerical rating scale(NRS)at 12,24,48 and 72 h were recorded,as well as the additional use of analgesics.Results(1)After continuous cold compress,the swelling of the limb(cm)reached the peak at 24 h(2.83±1.35),much higher than that at 12 h(2.67±1.34),48 h(2.43±1.34),and 72 h(2.09±1.25),with statistically significant differences between any two time-points(all P<0.05).(2)After 48 and 72 h cold compress,Groups A and B showed significantly milder swelling compared to Groups C and D(all P<0.05).Moreover,the swelling differences(cm)in Groups A(0.56± 0.26)and B(0.60±0.52)were much higher than that in Groups C(0.31±0.33)and D(0.30±0.25,P<0.05),but the differences between Groups A and B or Groups C and D were insignificant(P>0.05).(3)After 48 and 72 h of cold compress,the NRS and the use of additional analgesics revealed similar results,with the NRS being 3.02±0.64,3.32±0.77,3.69±0.78,3.75±0.65 in Groups A-D at 48 h and 2.88±0.55,3.03±0.57,3.35±0.56,3.43±0.57 at 72 h,and the number of patients with ≥1 additional use of analgesics was 13,20,36,24,all were much better in Groups A and B than in Groups C and D(P<0.05),but the differences between Groups A and B or Groups C and D were insignificant(P>0.05).Conclusion Among the four cold compress methods,Groups A and B are more beneficial for reducing swelling of the affected limb,alleviating pain,and decreasing additional use of an-algesics.
Closed tibia and fibula fracturesPreoperativeCold compress methods