Effect of Kangaroo Care and Oral Sucrose on Pain in Premature Infants: A Randomized Controlled Trial
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Updated: Dec 12, 2025
Electrophysiological Measurements and Analysis of Nociception in Human Infants
Published on: December 20, 2011
1Health Sciences Institute, University of Uskudar, Istanbul, Turkey.
Insights
Kangaroo care significantly reduces pain in preterm infants during heel lancing compared to oral sucrose. This method offers a safe and effective way to manage procedural pain in neonates.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Pediatric pain management
- Infant development
Background:
- Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) routinely involve painful procedures for premature infants.
- Neonatal pain can lead to adverse long-term outcomes, particularly in preterm infants.
- Effective pain reduction strategies are crucial for improving infant well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the efficacy of kangaroo care versus oral sucrose for pain relief in preterm infants undergoing heel lancing.
- To evaluate the impact of these interventions on physiological and observational pain indicators.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled study involving 64 preterm infants.
- Infants were allocated to either kangaroo care or oral sucrose groups.
- Pain was assessed using the Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP), with heart rate and oxygen saturation monitored before, during, and after heel lancing.
Main Results:
- Kangaroo care demonstrated a statistically significant greater reduction in PIPP scores post-heel lancing compared to oral sucrose.
- Both interventions were assessed for their impact on heart rate and oxygen saturation.
Conclusions:
- Kangaroo care is more effective than oral sucrose for alleviating pain during heel lancing in preterm infants.
- Kangaroo care provides an additional benefit of pain reduction during painful procedures in premature infants, complementing its other advantages.
Background:
Premature infants hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit are routinely exposed to many painful procedures. Pain experienced during the neonatal period may lead to negative outcomes, especially in preterm neonates, hence pain in infants should be reduced. Kangaroo care and oral sucrose are some of the methods that can help reduce pain.
Aim:
This study aimed to compare the effects of kangaroo care and oral sucrose on pain relief in preterm infants during heel lancing.
Methods:
Our study involved 64 infants. The infants were randomly divided into two groups using a randomized block design of drawing out slips from a thick, non-transparent envelope. There were 64 slips in this envelope (32 for kangaroo care and 32 for oral sucrose). Kangaroo care was given to the preterm infants in the first group and oral sucrose to those in the second group. In both groups, heart rate and oxygen saturation were measured and pain score was evaluated by two observers using the Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP) before, during, and 2 minutes after blood sampling by heel lancing.
Results:
There was a statistically significant difference between the groups in favor of the kangaroo group in terms of change in the PIPP values after heel lancing. Kangaroo care is more effective than oral sucrose in pain relief during heel lancing in preterm infants.
Conclusions:
In addition to many benefits it offers to infants, kangaroo care can be used to reduce pain during painful procedures in premature infants.
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