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Published on: July 4, 2018
Sensorial saturation improves infants' procedure-related pain behaviour in the cardiac intensive care unit: A
Yuri Choi1, Eun Kyoung Choi2, Hyejung Lee2
1Graduate School of Nursing, Yonsei University, Yonsei-ro 50-1, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea.
Insights
Sensorial saturation, including oral sugar, massage, and verbal interaction, effectively reduced infant pain during central venous catheter removal. This nonpharmacological approach offers a safe alternative for managing acute pain in critically ill infants.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal intensive care
- Pediatric nursing
- Pain management
Background:
- Infants in intensive care units (ICUs) experience unavoidable painful procedures.
- Infant pain and stress can lead to long-term hyperalgesia and neurodevelopmental issues.
- Effective pain management strategies are crucial for improving infant outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of sensorial saturation in alleviating procedural pain in infants.
- To assess pain reduction during jugular central venous catheter removal in an ICU setting.
Main Methods:
- A quasi-experimental, repeated-measures design was used.
- 78 infants under one year with congenital heart disease were studied.
- The experimental group received sensorial saturation (oral sugar, massage, verbal interaction); the control group received standard care (swaddling).
- Pain was measured using physiological indicators (heart rate, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate) and the Modified Behavioural Pain Scale.
Main Results:
- The sensorial saturation group exhibited significantly lower heart rates (p < .001), respiratory rates (p < .001), and behavioral pain scores (p < .001) compared to the control group.
- These reductions were observed both during and after the procedure.
- Sensorial saturation demonstrated a significant positive impact on pain reduction.
Conclusions:
- Sensorial saturation is an effective nursing intervention for reducing infant pain during invasive procedures.
- It presents a safe, nonpharmacological alternative for managing acute pain in infants.
- Findings support the development of clinical guidelines for evidence-based, nonpharmacological pain management in infants.
Background:
Painful procedures are unavoidable when providing critical care to infants in intensive care units. These adverse experiences during infancy can lead to later hyperalgesia and poor neurodevelopmental outcomes. Thus, appropriate interventions are required to relieve infant pain during these procedures.
Objectives:
This study evaluated the effectiveness of sensorial saturation in reducing pain for infants during jugular central venous catheter removal procedures in intensive care units.
Methods:
This study involved a quasi-experimental, repeated-measures design. Data were collected from participants sequentially recruited from April to June 2019 (control period) and July to September 2019 (experimental period). Participants included 78 infants younger than 1 year with congenital heart disease. The control group (n = 38) received a general nursing intervention using swaddling, a common child-care practice that consists of wrapping infants to restrict movements, whereas the experimental group (n = 40) received sensorial saturation using oral sugar, body massage, and verbal interaction. Infants' physiological reactions to procedural pain were measured by changes in heart rate, oxygen saturation, and respiratory rate. Infants' procedural pain and behavioural indicators were measured using the Modified Behavioural Pain Scale. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, χ2 tests, and repeated-measures analysis of variance.
Results:
Compared with the control group, the experimental group had lower heart rates (F = 53.15, p < .001), respiratory rates (F = 15.19, p < .001), and behavioural pain scores (F = 45.21, p < .001), both during and after the procedure.
Conclusions:
Sensorial saturation can be used as a nursing intervention in infants. Given the many invasive procedures that are part of infant clinical care, sensorial saturation may be a safe analgesic alternative. The findings of this study could lead to the development of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the nonpharmacological management of acute pain in infants.
