Entonox - An Effective Analgesic for Painful Physiotherapy Procedures

Abstract

At the Burns unit at Withington Hospital in Manchester the use of Entonox (50% nitrous oxide and 50% oxygen gaseous mixture) as a supplementary analgesic is routine for pain experienced during therapy procedures. An audit of patient's perceived pain levels during physiotherapy was commissioned to prove a need for extra Entonox units in order to allow its more widespread use, by therapists, in trauma and orthopaedics. Results of the study showed significant increases in pain during physiotherapy procedures and in most cases a return to pre-treatment levels after five minutes. Presentation of the data to the trust management resulted in the purchase of two new Entonox units and a subsequent improvement in patient care.