The Effect of Light Therapy on Post-Surgical Pain

The Feasibility of Using Green Light Phototherapy for the Management of Acute Postoperative Pain

Researchers aim to demonstrate that the use of phototherapy is feasible and may reduce acute postoperative pain based on recent literature. The primary objective is to demonstrate that displaying light-emitting diodes [LED] can be achieved in the ICU setting in after cardiac surgery.

The primary aim of this study to determine whether or not green light phototherapy is feasible after cardiac surgery.

Patients that will be undergoing heart surgery will be recruited to the study. After surgery they will be exposed to either green or white LEDs for up to 5 hours per day and up to one week after surgery.

After their exposure to light therapy, a survey will be given to the patient which will ask questions regarding tolerance of the therapy. A survey will also be given to the staff which will query whether or not the therapy was an impediment to workflow. In addition, the medical record will be reviewed to assess opiate usage in each group as an exploratory aim which may suggest differences in pain experiences.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Status post heart surgery and are admitted in the ICU at Mayo Clinic, Florida.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patient with color blindness and/or untreated cataracts.
• Patients who are hemodynamically unstable.
• Patients with dementia/delirium.
• Pregnancy.
• Patient is unwilling to participate or provide informed consent.
• High baseline narcotic baseline requirements that would skew the baseline impact on post-op opiate pain requirements.