Comparison of the effectiveness of position change for patients with pain and vascular complications after transfemoral coronary angiography: a randomized clinical trial

Prolonged immobilization after transfemoral coronary angiography (TFA) may cause pain and vascular complications in patients. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a change in position to decrease pain and vascular complications for patients after TFA.

This randomized clinical trial was conducted in 2020. Purposive sampling of 72 eligible patients undergoing TFA were selected and randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group. Patients in the experimental group (EG) were placed in a supine position for 2 h after angiography, followed by a semi-seated position with the bed angle gradually increased to 45° over 4 h. Patients in the control group (CG) remained in the supine position for 6 h. Vital signs, groin, back and leg pain, hematoma, hemorrhage, and urinary retention were assessed in both groups before, immediately after, and over 6 h after angiography. The Visual Analogue Scale was used to measure pain, the Christensen scale to measure hematoma, counting bloody gases to measure hemorrhage, and patient self-rating to determine urinary retention.

There was no significant difference between EG and CG on score of groin (2.69 ± 1.00 vs. 2.61 ± 1.00, P = 0.74), back (2.19 ± 0.98 vs. 2.47 ± 0.87, P = 0.21), and leg pain (2.14 ± 0.71 vs. 2.50 ± 1.08, P = 0.27) before the TFA. However, from the second hour to the sixth hour after the TFA, the pain in the EG was significantly less than the CG (P < 0.001). So that pain in the groin (1.36 ± 0.48 vs. 3.28 ± 0.81), back (1.25 ± 0.50 vs. 3.81 ± 1.06), and leg (1.44 ± 0.55 vs. 3.28 ± 0.81) for the EG patients was significantly less than the CG in the sixth hour after TFA (P < 0.001). No patients experienced hematoma. No differences were noted between groups in hemorrhage and urinary retention.

Position change to a semi-seated position in patients after TFA is effective and safe for reduction of pain without increasing vascular complications.