• M A Finan, W S Roberts, M S Hoffman, J V Fiorica, D Cavanagh, and B J Dudney.
• Division of Gynecologic Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, University of South Florida, Tampa.
• Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 1993 Feb 1;168(2):542-4.

ObjectiveThe purpose of the study was to determine the effect of cold therapy on the subjective assessment of pain, analgesic requirements, and wound complications in female patients undergoing major abdominal surgery.Study DesignTwenty-seven patients were entered in the study in a prospective, randomized fashion. The Hot/Ice Thermal Blanket was applied to 13 patients, and 12 patients were in the control group. All patients underwent exploratory laparotomy and received postoperative pain relief with intravenously self-administered morphine sulfate through a patient-controlled analgesic pump.ResultsCompared with the control group (0.363 +/- 0.118 mg/kg/day), the cold pack group used more morphine sulfate on the first postoperative day (0.529 +/- 0.236 mg/kg/day, p < 0.05). The mean amount of morphine sulfate used by both groups was similar on postoperative day 2.ConclusionWe conclude that the cold pack does not improve postoperative pain control in gynecologic patients undergoing exploratory laparotomy.

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