Nursing research
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Use of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for postoperative pain.
This study examined the effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on incisional pain caused by the procedure of cleaning and packing an abdominal surgical wound. Seventy-five subjects (mean age 56.9 years) were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups: TENS, placebo-TENS, or no-treatment control. ⋯ Subjects who received TENS reported a significantly lower level of pain after dressing change than did those subjects who received either placebo-TENS or no-treatment. Drug administration variables did not contribute significantly to level of reported pain.