Abstract

Context: Intramuscular (IM) injection is a common clinical procedure associated with short-term pain. Cold application is a simple, low-cost non-pharmacological method proposed to reduce this discomfort, but rigorous evidence specific to the cold-pack method remains limited. Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness of cold pack application in reducing pain during IM injection among adult outpatients, and to examine associations between pain level and selected demographic and clinical variables. Settings and Design: Quantitative, quasi-experimental, post-test-only controlgroup design conducted in the outpatient department of a hospital in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. Methods and Material: Sixty adults receiving IM injection were allocated by nonprobability convenience sampling to an experimental group (cold pack applied at the injection site, n=30) or a control group (routine IM injection, n=30). Pain was assessed immediately after injection using a structured pain-assessment instrument. As the original participant-level dataset is no longer available, this report presents the historically recorded group-level results rather than newly generated data. Statistical analysis used: Descriptive statistics, unpaired t test, and chi-square test, as recorded in the original study record; these inferential values could not be independently recalculated. Results: The reported post-test mean pain score was 1.68 in the experimental group and 4.34 in the control group (mean difference 2.66; unpaired t = 4.02, p<0.01). Age was reportedly associated with pain level in the experimental group; no variable examined was significantly associated with pain in the control group. Conclusions: The historical results suggest cold pack application may lower pain during IM injection, consistent in direction with published evidence on local cold interventions. Because participant-level data and some methodological details are unavailable, findings should be treated as historical and confirmed by adequately powered, prospectively documented trials.

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Funding