Background and purpose: Pain assessment is a challenge in traumatic brain injury (TBI) in critical care units. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the effect of nociceptive stimulation on heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation (SPO2) in patients with traumatic brain injury.
Materials and methods: A quasi-experimental research was conducted in 35 TBI patients, applying nociceptive and non-nociceptive procedures. Heart rate, respiratory rate, and SPO2 were measured one minute before, during, and 15 minutes after the procedures.
Results: There was a significant association between the mean scores for physiological variables before, during, and after the intervention. Eta values of physiological variables in nociceptive procedure were higher than those of the non-nociceptive procedures. There were significant associations between the nociceptive procedure and heart rate and SPO2 changes. But, there was no association between nociceptive procedure and respiratory rate (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Current findings suggest that painful stimulation could significantly increase heart rate and decrease SPO2 in patients with traumatic brain injury. Therefore, nurses could use these physiological markers as a convenient and easy-to-access method for initial assessment of pain in traumatic brain injury patients.