The Impact of Cold Application on Pain Reduction in Adult Patients Receiving Intramuscular Injections: A Systematic Review

AIM: The aim of this study is to systematically review the literature on the effect of cold application in reducing localized pain in adult patients receiving intramuscular injections.

METHODS: The study is a systematic review. A total of 216 studies published between 2014 and 2024 were reviewed. Relevant research was sourced from databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, Ulakbim, and Cochrane, with nine studies meeting the inclusion criteria being systematically reviewed. The study protocol and article preparation followed the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses” statement and “Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, Study Design” model. Keywords such as “intramuscular injection,” “pain,” “local cold application,” “cold application,” “cold compress,” and “adult patient” were used in various combinations in both English and Turkish.

RESULTS: This study included nine articles that met the inclusion criteria, comprising five randomized controlled trials and four quasi-experimental studies. The study included individuals aged 18 to 60 years. The types of cold application used in the studies varied, with five studies utilizing cold spray and four employing cold/ice application.

CONCLUSION: The review concluded that cold application is an effective nursing intervention for reducing pain in adult patients receiving intramuscular injections. The evidence from this systematic review indicates that cold application is effective in reducing pain associated with intramuscular injections. It is recommended that further high-quality, large-scale studies be conducted to validate the effectiveness of cold application in pain reduction for intramuscular injections.

Cite this article as: Durgun, H., Şirin, F. A., & Dalcalı, B. K. (2025). The impact of cold application on pain reduction in adult patients receiving intramuscular injections: A systematic review. Florence Nightingale Journal of Nursing, 33, 0023,doi:10.5152/FNJN.2025.25023.