Effects of change position on back pain and vascular complications after coronary angiography

Effects of change position on back pain and vascular complications after coronary angiography Najafi Kalyani M (MSc.), Ebadi A (Ph.Ds). Coronary angiography is a routine cardiac diagnostic procedure. Patients are restricted to bed rest after the procedure due to potential vascular complications related to femoral approach. Many patients are required to stay at bed up to 24 hours. The effects of reducing this are still under investigation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of position change in bed on back pain and other complications in patients after angiography. In this experimental study, 120 patients were randomly assigned equally either to a control or experimental groups. The control group received usual care, remaining supine and flat for 6 hours with the affected leg being straight. The experimental group changed their body position hourly, varying between supine, right side-lying, and left side-lying during the first 6 hours after coronary angiography. Regardless of the group, back pain intensity increased with longer stay at bed. In addition, the control group reported higher levels of pain at all four assessment times. Other complications such as nausea, vomiting, bleeding from the femoral site and hematoma were not significantly different between the control and experimental groups. Findings suggest that patients may be able to safely change their position sooner in bed after coronary angiography. Changing position in bed may also reduce back pain and increase physical comfort. Not only does changing position not increase complications but it also decreases some of them. Key words: Position change, Back pain, Coronary angiography