Comparison of the Effect of EMLA™ Cream and the Valsalva Maneuver on Pain Severity during Vascular Needle Insertion in Hemodialysis Patients: A Controlled, Randomized, Clinical Trial

Efficacy and safety of the Valsalva maneuver in relieving venipuncture pain in children and adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Venipuncture is a common invasive clinical procedure, and pain management during puncture has been of interest to healthcare professionals. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the Valsalva maneuver (VM) for the relief of venipuncture pain in children and adults. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP database, and CBM were searched from inception to December 2023 for all available randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated the impact of VM on venipuncture. Two reviewers independently performed study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment. Continuous variables were analyzed by mean differences (MD) or standardized mean differences (SMD), whereas dichotomous variables were analyzed by risk ratios (RR). A total of 22 studies involving 1740 participants were included. The pooled results showed that VM relieved pain intensity during venipuncture in children (SMD = -0.89, 95% CI = -1.47 to -0.30, p = 0.003) and adults (SMD = -1.11, 95% CI = -1.46 to -0.77, p < 0.00001), reduced anxiety intensity (SMD = -1.07, 95% CI = -1.68 to -0.47, p = 0.0005), and shortened puncture time (MD = -13.52, 95% CI = -21.14 to -5.90, p = 0.0005). There was no significant difference in the success rate of venous cannulation, MAP, HR, or incidence of adverse events in subjects who performed VM compared to controls. VM was an effective and safe method of pain management that reduced pain intensity during venipuncture in children and adults without significant adverse effects. The results of this meta-analysis need to be further validated by more rigorous and larger RCTs.

Effectiveness of Virtual Reality for Managing Pain, Fear, and Anxiety in Children and Adolescents Undergoing Needle-Related Procedures: Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

The most frequently performed invasive procedures in hospitals and healthcare centers are needle-related procedures, such as intravenous cannulation and phlebotomy, and they are identified as the major sources of pain, fear, and anxiety in children and adolescents. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of VR as a distraction measure to reduce pain, fear, and anxiety in children and adolescents undergoing needle-related invasive procedures. For this purpose, the CINAHL, Scopus, WOS, and Cochrane Library scientific databases were used. The protocol review was registered in PROSPERO (ID:42024563245), and inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. Twenty-one studies were included in the systematic review, involving a total of 2663 participants. Significant differences favored the use of virtual reality for the control of pain intensity (WBFSpatients p = 0.001; MD = -1.83; 95% CI -2.93 to -0.72; WBFSparents p = 0.0002; MD = -2.61; 95% CI -4.00 to -1.23; WBFSnurses p = 0.0001; MD = -2.71; 95% CI -2.82 to -2.60; VAS/NRS p = 0.001, MD = -0.71; 95% CI -1.13 to -0.28), anxiety (CAMpatient p = 0.02, MD = -2.92; 95% CI -5.45 to -0.38; CAMparents p = 0.01, MD = -3.87; 95% CI -6.99 to -0.75) and fear (CFSpatients p = 0.0005, MD = -1.27; 95% CI -1.99 to -0.56; CFSparents p = 0.0005, MD = -1.33; 95% CI -2.08 to -0.58; and CFSnurses p = 0.04, MD = -1.13; 95% CI -2.24 to -0.03). However, high heterogeneity was noted. The use of virtual reality as a distraction appears to be a valuable strategy for reducing pain, fear, and anxiety during needle-related procedures, although further studies with higher methodological rigor, based on a standardized protocol, are needed.

Effect of the coughing technique during subcutaneous heparin injection on pain severity and individual satisfaction

to examine the effect of the medium intensity coughing technique during subcutaneous low molecular weight heparin injection on pain severity and individual satisfaction in general surgery patients. the prospective, quasi-experimental study included 100 patients who had been prescribed a subcutaneous low molecular weight heparin injection once in 24 hours. Each patient received two injections by the same researcher, one using the standard injection technique with medium intensity coughing technique and the other only the standard injection technique. there was a statistically significant difference between patients' mean scores on pain severity and satisfaction levels after injections administered by the two techniques (p= 0.000). Also, it was found that gender affected pain severity relating to the injection but did not affect the level of individual satisfaction. the medium intensity coughing technique was found to reduce pain severity and increase patient satisfaction in general surgery patients receiving subcutaneous low molecular weight heparin injections. Trial registration: NCT05681338.