Comparison between the effects of preoperative skin traction and under knee pillow on pain relief in the patients with proximal femoral fracture

Background and Aim: Proximal femoral fracture is one of the most common fractures, especially among elderly people. Skin and skeletal traction are usually used to reduce the pain in the patients before surgery. In this study we investigated the effects of skin traction and use of pillow under knee before surgery on pain relief in the patients with proximal femoral fracture. Material and Methods: This study included patients with proximal femoral fractures referring to Ayatollah Kashani Hospital in Shahrekord in 2016. Patients were randomly assigned to skin traction and under knee pillow groups. Demographic data including gender, age, body mass index and other information such as type of fracture, time interval between the accident and referring to the hospital, the amount of sedatives taken, the time interval between admission and surgery, type of device used for surgical fixation and pain assessment by VAS were obtained after interview with the participants and recorded in a questionnaire. Results: The traction group included 19 men and 19 women with a mean age of 74.81 ± 13.10 years and the under knee pillow group consisted of 15 male and 20 female participants with a mean age of 73.08 ± 13.11 years. The mean pain scores did not show any significant differences at the first visit (traction group 7.31±2.08; pillow group 6.94±2.54) and also on every separate day of the study up to the fifth day of hospitalization in the traction (2.40±2.07) and pillow groups (2±0) (P>0.05). Conclusion: Considering the complications of skin transaction such as skin ulcers and its subsequent cost of treatment, in this study we found that use of pillow under knee was associated with a reduction in pain similar to the traction method and had fewer complications.