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Analgesia by cooling vibration during venipuncture in children with cognitive impairment

Silvana Schreiber1, Giorgio Cozzi1, Rosaria Rutigliano1

  • 1Institute for Maternal and Child Health, IRCCS 'Burlo Garofolo', Trieste, Italy.

Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)
|September 25, 2015
PubMed

Insights

A cooling vibration device, Buzzy, significantly reduced procedural pain in children with cognitive impairments during vascular access. This non-invasive method offers improved pain management for non-verbal pediatric patients.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Pain Management
  • Neurology
  • Anesthesiology

Background:

  • Children with cognitive impairments frequently experience pain and require procedures like venipuncture.
  • These children often cannot verbally report pain, leading to inadequate pain assessment and management.
  • Effective pain relief strategies are crucial for this vulnerable population.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy of a cooling vibration device (Buzzy) in reducing pain during vascular access in children with cognitive impairments.
  • To compare pain levels between children using Buzzy and those receiving no intervention.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective randomized controlled study was conducted with 70 non-verbal children with cognitive impairments.
  • The study involved venipuncture and intravenous cannulation procedures.
  • Pain was assessed by parents using the Noncommunicating Children's Pain Checklist--postoperative version scale.

Main Results:

  • The Buzzy group reported significantly less procedural pain (91.4%) compared to the no-intervention group (61.1%) (p = 0.003).
  • The study included children with conditions such as cerebral palsy, epileptic encephalopathy, and genetic syndromes.
  • A median age of nine years was observed in the 70 tested children.

Conclusions:

  • Cooling vibration analgesia using Buzzy is effective in reducing pain during vascular access in children with cognitive impairments.
  • This intervention provides a viable non-pharmacological option for pain management in this population.
  • Buzzy offers a promising approach to improve procedural comfort for non-verbal children.
Abstract

Keywords:
ChildrenCognitive impairmentCooling vibrationNeedle painVascular access

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