Review Article

Nonpharmacological Interventions for Pain Management in Paramedicine and the Emergency Setting: A Review of the Literature

Table 3

Intervention trials investigating the effect of active warming on pain.

StudyDesignParticipantsInterventionOutcomes

Kober et al., 2001 [18] Randomized single-blinded with minor trauma Warming with an electric heating blanket Resistive heating: ↓pain, anxiety, ↑overall patient satisfaction, thermal comfort, and core temperature
Resistive heating (, 53–67 years old)
Passive warming (, 50–64 years old)

Kober et al., 2003 [19] Randomized single-blinded with cholelithiasis Warming with an electric heating blanket over abdomen Active warming: ↓pain, anxiety, heart rate, and ↑skin and subcutaneous temperature
Active warming (, 47.8 ± 18.2 years old)
Passive warming (, 42.9 ± 21.0 years old)

Kober et al., 2003 [20] Randomized single-blinded with acute renal colic Warming with an electric blanket set to 42°C Resistive heating: ↓pain, anxiety, nausea, vasoconstriction, heart rate, and ↑overall patient satisfaction
Resistive heating (, 27.6 ± 6.8 years old)
Passive warming
(, 29.4 ± 7.1 years old)

Bertalanffy et al., 2006 [21] Randomized single-blinded (all women) with pelvic pain Warming with an electric heating blanket over abdomen Active warming: ↓pain, anxiety, nausea, heart rate, and vasoconstriction
Active warming (, 24.2 ± 5.1 years old)
Passive warming (, 26.3 ± 3.8 years old)