Effectiveness of Nurse-led Interventions on Pain and Complications among Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Unit: A Quasi-experimental study
Indian J Crit Care Med. 2026 May-Jun;30(5):408-413. doi: 10.5005/jp-journals-10071-25204. Epub 2026 May 25.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Critically ill patients in intensive care units (ICUs) require specialized care, and inadequate pain management remains a prevalent issue that contributes to long-term complications and adversely affects recovery. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of nurse-led interventions on pain related to critical care and the prevention of ICU-related complications among patients.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: A quasi-experimental pretest posttest control group design was adopted for this study, which was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Mangaluru, Karnataka State, India. Patients admitted to the ICU (n = 60) were selected using purposive sampling and were divided equally into intervention and control groups. The intervention group received structured nurse-led care focused on ICU-related pain and strategies to minimize complications through supportive communication and a range of motion (ROM) exercises every morning for 1 week.
RESULTS: In the intervention group, 53.3% of patients were aged 60-69 years, whereas in the control group, 40.0% of them were between 50 and 59 years. The intervention and control groups reported a reduction in critical care pain scores and ICU-related complications (p < 0.05). Notably, the participants in the intervention group showed a greater reduction in the parameters of study outcomes compared to the control group, indicating a clinically significant positive impact of the nurse-led interventions (p < 0.05). There was a significant association between pain and age, type of family, and basal metabolic index (BMI), as well as ICU-related complications and age.
CONCLUSION: The findings underscore the effectiveness of nurse-led interventions in mitigating critical care pain and reducing ICU-related complications, demonstrating their potential as an evidence-based strategy to improve patient outcomes.
HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Naik MG, Barboza HR, Rao J. Effectiveness of Nurse-led Interventions on Pain and Complications among Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Unit: A Quasi-experimental study. Indian J Crit Care Med 2026;30(5):408-413.
PMID:42415898 | PMC:PMC13337788 | DOI:10.5005/jp-journals-10071-25204