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Non-pharmacological management of infant and young child procedural pain

Rebecca R Pillai Riddell1, Nicole M Racine, Kara Turcotte

  • 1Department of Psychology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, OUCH Laboratory, Atkinson College, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M3J 1P3.

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
|October 7, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Non-pharmacological interventions like non-nutritive sucking, kangaroo care, and swaddling effectively manage acute pain and distress in infants. These methods show significant improvements in pain reactivity and regulation across preterm, neonate, and older infant age groups.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Pain Management
  • Neonatal Care

Background:

  • Infant acute pain and distress are common, with potential long-term health implications.
  • Early life experiences significantly shape development across the lifespan.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate non-pharmacological pain management strategies for infants up to three years old.
  • To analyze intervention efficacy based on infant age and pain response.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and RCT cross-overs.
  • Searched multiple databases (CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, DAI) and clinical trial registries.
  • Analyzed 51 studies involving 3396 infants, focusing on pain reactivity and regulation.

Main Results:

  • Non-nutritive sucking, kangaroo care, and swaddling/facilitated tucking demonstrated significant reductions in pain reactivity for preterm and neonatal infants.
  • These interventions also improved immediate pain-related regulation in preterm and neonatal infants.
  • Significant heterogeneity was noted in some analyses, impacting confidence in findings.

Conclusions:

  • Non-pharmacological interventions are effective in managing acute procedural pain in infants.
  • Specific methods like non-nutritive sucking, kangaroo care, and swaddling offer significant benefits for pain management in preterm, neonate, and older infants.
Abstract

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