J Korean Soc Emerg Med.  2013 Dec;24(6):702-708.

The Usefulness of the Hot Pack as a Complementary Technique for the Treatment of Non-specific Abdominal Pain or Acute Gastroenteritis in an Emergency Department

• Moon JH
• Cho GC
• Cho CH
• Ryu JY
• Ahn JH

Abstract

PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the hot pack as a complementary technique for the treatment of nonspecific abdominal pain or acute gastroenteritis in a hospital emergency department.
METHODS
This study was conducted as a prospective case-controlled trial of patients with nonspecific abdominal pain or acute gastroenteritis who visited an emergency department. A total of 166 participants, from 18 to 75 years old, were divided into two groups: patients treated with antispasmodics and hot pack (WH) group (n=83) and patients treated with antispasmodics without a hot pack (WOH) group (n=83). Patients rated their pain using the 10 cm numerical rating scale (NRS). Pain NRS was assessed four times: first on arrival and then at 1, 2, and 3 hours after treatment. The frequency of tramadol use and residence time was also assessed.
RESULTS
The two groups did not significantly differ in age or gender distribution. The mean NRS score also did not significantly differ between the groups upon arrival (p=0.847). The NRS scores at 1 hour and 2 hours after treatment in the WH group were significantly lower than NRS scores in the WOH group (p<0.001). There was no significant difference, however in NRS scores after 3 hours for both groups (p=0.091). There was a significant difference in NRS scores between admission and after 1 hour (p=0.005) and a significant difference in NRS scores between 2 hours and 3 hours (p<0.001). The frequency of tramadol use significantly differed between groups (p<0.01) but there was no significant difference in residence time in each group.
CONCLUSION
The hot pack is an effective complementary technique for reducing abdominal pain in the hospital emergency department.

Keyword

Abdominal pain; Heating; Method; Pain management

MeSH Terms

Abdominal Pain*
Case-Control Studies
Emergencies*
Gastroenteritis*
Heating
Humans
Pain Management
Parasympatholytics
Prospective Studies
Tramadol
Parasympatholytics
Tramadol