Effectiveness of valsalva maneuver on pain perception among patients undergoing intravenous cannulation in indira gandhi medical college and hospital shimla, himachal pradesh

Background: Intravenous cannulation is most common invasive procedure, used in the healthcare setting for drug administration which causes pain and distress to the recipient. Past experiences about intravenous cannulation may leads to avoidance or postpone needed medical care. Valsava maneuver is a most effective non-pharmacological and non-invasive procedure which is used to reduce the pain of the patient during intravenous cannulation.

Aim: A quasi-experimental study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of Valsalva maneuver on pain perception among patients undergoing intravenous cannulation in Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.

Methodology: A quasi experimental with post-test only control group design was used to conduct the present study. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the sample size of 50 adult patients who were between the age group of 21-60 years admitted in medical ward, surgical ward, and oncology unit those are undergoing for intravenous cannulation at Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. The tools of study were demographic variables and numerical pain rating scale.

Result: Data analysis was done by descriptive and inferential statistics. In experimental group majority of study subjects 80% had mild pain whereas in control group majority of study subjects 72% had moderate pain. Mean pain score and standard deviation of experimental group as 2.56±1.227 and of control group as 4.56±1.294.The calculated t value as 5.608 at significance level of < 0.05 and df (48) hence the calculated t value is greater than the tabulated ‘t’ value which indicates that intervention was effective in experimental group. The above findings shows that the intervention was effective in experimental group. There was no significant association of post-test pain score with any of the selected associated variables in the experimental and control group.

Conclusion: The study concludes that the Valsalva maneuver is non-invasive, non-pharmacological and effective method to reduce pain associated with intravenous cannulation.