The effectiveness of ice as a topical anesthetic for the insertion of intravenous catheters

In a paired clinical trial, the effectiveness of ice in reducing the pain o f intravenous catheter placement was assessed in 28 adult volunteers. An ic e pack was placed over one arm for 10 minutes, followed by insertion of an 18-gauge angiocatheter in both arms. Patients recorded their pain assessmen t after each venipuncture on a previously validated 100 mm visual analog sc ale (VAS) and identified their preferred method for the procedure (pretreat ment with ice or no pretreatment), The mean pain score for catheter placeme nt an arms pretreated with ice was 27.5 +/- 15.9 mm; the mean pain scare fo r the control arms was 34.2 +/- 21.6 mm (P = .17). Most patients (61%) pref erred no pretreatment (P = .014), Although most men (75%) preferred no pret reatment, 75% of women preferred pretreatment with ice (P = .014), Future s tudies should examine whether ice is effective at reducing pain from other more painful procedures and whether the response to ice is gender related. Copyright (C) 1999 by W.B. Saunders Company.