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Blood sampling in infants (reducing pain and morbidity)

Olga Kapellou1

  • 1Neonatal Unit, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, UK.

BMJ Clinical Evidence
|May 19, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Painful heel punctures and venepunctures are common in neonates. This review examines interventions like sweet solutions, pacifiers, and topical anesthetics to reduce infant pain during blood sampling.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal care
  • Pain management in infants
  • Evidence-based medicine

Background:

  • Preterm and ill neonates undergo frequent painful procedures, including heel punctures (61-87%) and venepunctures (8-13%).
  • Pain associated with these procedures is significant, yet analgesia is rarely administered specifically for blood sampling.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review interventions aimed at reducing pain-related distress and morbidity during venepuncture in neonates under 12 months.
  • To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of various pain-reducing methods.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic review of 16 studies, including systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and observational studies.
  • Searched major databases (Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library) up to July 2007.
  • Included safety alerts from regulatory agencies (FDA, MHRA).

Main Results:

  • The review identified and evaluated interventions for neonatal pain during venepuncture.
  • A GRADE evaluation assessed the quality of evidence for each intervention.

Conclusions:

  • The systematic review presents findings on the effectiveness and safety of oral sweet solutions, pacifiers, and topical anesthetics (lidocaine-prilocaine cream, tetracaine).
  • These interventions are discussed in relation to reducing pain during neonatal blood sampling procedures.
Abstract

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