Effects of age, gender and holding on pain response during infant immunization

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Pain Management
• Immunization Practices

Background:

• Assessing infant pain is crucial for evaluating analgesic effectiveness.
• Routine immunizations are a common source of acute pain in infants.
• Understanding factors influencing infant pain can improve clinical practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of infant positioning (supine vs. held) on pain responses during routine immunizations.
• To examine the influence of infant age and gender on pain responses during immunization.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 106 infants aged 2 to 6 months.
• Infants were randomized to either a supine (SUP) position or held (HLD) by a parent during immunization.
• Pain was assessed via duration of crying, facial grimacing, and visual analogue scale (VAS) scores.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in crying duration, facial grimacing, or VAS pain scores were found between the supine and held positions.
• Infant gender did not influence pain responses.
• Two-month-old infants exhibited significantly higher pain responses compared to 4- and 6-month-old infants.

Conclusions:

• Infant positioning (supine or held) does not alter pain responses during routine immunizations.
• Age is a significant factor, with younger infants experiencing more pain.
• These findings can inform strategies to minimize pain during pediatric immunizations.