Comparison of the efficacy of two non-pharmacological techniques in reducing pain during urinary catheterization: a randomized clinical trial

Urinary catheterization (UC), a commonly performed procedure in emergency departments (EDs), is often associated with significant patient discomfort and pain. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of two non-pharmacological techniques in reducing pain during UC. This randomized clinical trial included 54 male participants aged 18–65 years who underwent UC in the ED of Imam Khomeini Hospital. After obtaining ethical approval and informed consent, eligible patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Intervention Group 1 (nasal pressure technique with closed epiglottis exhalation), Intervention Group 2 (deep cough technique), or the control group (routine UC procedure). Pain levels were assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) at three time points: immediately before, immediately after, and 15 min after the intervention. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 18. The mean age of participants was 49.09 ± 19.61 years. Both Intervention Group 1 and Intervention Group 2 showed significant differences in pain levels compared to the control group immediately after the intervention (P = 0.046). Specifically, Intervention Group 1 experienced lower pain levels than the control group, while Intervention Group 2 reported higher pain levels. At 15 min post-intervention, pain levels in Intervention Group 1 were lower than in Intervention Group 2, and the control group reported lower pain levels than Intervention Group 2, though this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.09). The nasal pressure technique demonstrated a significant reduction in pain during UC, suggesting its potential as a simple, non-pharmacological intervention for pain management. Further studies are recommended to validate these findings and explore their applicability in clinical practice. This study was retrospectively registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) under the registration number IRCT20191217045764N3 on March 17, 2021.