Clinical Research Directory

Magic Show Featuring "Kuco" for Pain and Fear During Invasive Procedures

Children frequently experience pain and fear during invasive procedures such as venipuncture and peripheral intravenous catheter insertion. These experiences may negatively affect children's cooperation during procedures and increase anxiety related to future healthcare encounters. Non-pharmacological distraction techniques are recommended to reduce procedure-related pain and fear in pediatric patients. This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effect of a standardized magic show featuring "Kuco" on pain and fear experienced by children during invasive procedures. Eighty children aged 5-8 years who require venipuncture or peripheral intravenous catheter insertion will be randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group. Children in the intervention group will receive a standardized magic show performed with the "Kuco" puppet before and throughout the invasive procedure, whereas children in the control group will receive routine clinical care only. Pain and fear will be assessed immediately before and after the procedure using the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale and the Children's Fear Scale. The findings are expected to provide evidence regarding the effectiveness of a magic show-based distraction intervention for reducing procedure-related pain and fear in children.

Fan-Assisted Local Cooling for Pain During Intravenous Cannulation in Adults

Inserting an intravenous (IV) cannula is one of the most frequently performed procedures in clinical practice, and it is commonly experienced as painful. Before the needle is inserted, the skin is routinely cleaned with alcohol. As alcohol evaporates it cools the skin, and cooled skin is less sensitive to pain. This study examined whether accelerating that evaporation with a simple portable hand fan reduces the pain of IV cannulation. One hundred volunteers aged 18 to 65 years who required elective IV cannulation took part in the emergency department of a tertiary care city hospital. Each participant underwent two cannulations, one in each arm, within a single session. On one arm the skin was prepared with 70% isopropyl alcohol in the usual way. On the other arm the same alcohol was applied and the site was then fanned for 15 seconds with a portable hand fan before the needle was inserted. The order of the two arms was assigned randomly, so each participant served as their own comparison. Within 30 seconds of each cannulation, participants rated their pain on a 0 to 10 numeric scale. The assessor who recorded these scores did not know which arm had received the fan. The researchers also recorded whether the vein was entered on the first attempt, any skin irritation at 5 and 30 minutes, and, after both cannulations were completed, how satisfied participants were with the fan-assisted method. The purpose of the study was to determine whether this low-cost, drug-free method can make IV cannulation less painful without making it harder to place the cannula.