Objective  To compare the efficiency between ice compress with soft-packed ice bags and traditional ice compress for patients with fractures of four limbs.

  Methods  Totally 110 patients with fractures of four limbs were randomly divided into two groups, with 55 cases in each group. The control group conducted with traditional ice compress with rubber ice bags before operation, and the observation group conducted with ice compress with soft-packed ice bags. The ice bag displacement and analgesic and detumescent effects were compared between the two groups.

  Results  In the process of ice compress, the rate of ice bag displacement in the observation group was 3.64%, which was significantly lower than 20.00% in the control group (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores before treatment and at 48 hours after ice compress between the two groups (P>0.05), but the VAS scores of the observation group at 3, 6, 12 and 24 hours after ice compress were significantly lower than those of the control group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the degree of swelling before ice compress between the two groups (P>0.05), but the degree of swelling after ice compress in the observation group was significantly better than that in the control group (P < 0.05).

  Conclusion  Compared with the traditional rubber ice compress, the early application of soft-packed ice bags has good stability and better effect in relieving pain and swelling for patients with fractures of four limbs.