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Updated: May 17, 2025
A Preterm Rat Model for Pain Studies
Published on: February 9, 2024
The effect of newborn individualized developmental care and assessment program (NIDCAP) on pain caused by eye
Naimeh Abbasi1, Monir Ramezani1,2, Mohammad Heidarzadeh3
1Department of Pediatric Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Insights
Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) significantly reduced pain during retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) eye exams in preterm infants. NIDCAP care lowered heart rate and facial pain scores, indicating improved comfort during this essential screening.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Developmental pediatrics
- Ophthalmology
Background:
- Eye examinations for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) are painful for infants.
- Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) focuses on pain management for premature infants.
- ROP screening is crucial for preventing visual impairment in preterm infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of NIDCAP on pain experienced during ROP screening eye examinations.
- To compare pain levels in infants receiving NIDCAP versus routine care during eye exams.
Main Methods:
- A non-randomized controlled trial involving 60 preterm infants.
- Intervention group received NIDCAP protocols before, during, and after eye exams.
- Control group received routine care; pain assessed using the Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP) tool.
Main Results:
- NIDCAP group showed significantly lower increases in heart rate during exams (p=0.001).
- Facial pain scores were significantly lower in the NIDCAP group (p=0.011).
- Overall pain scores were significantly reduced in the NIDCAP intervention group (p=0.033).
Conclusions:
- NIDCAP protocols effectively reduce pain and discomfort associated with ROP screening eye examinations in preterm infants.
- Implementing NIDCAP can improve the management of procedural pain in neonatal intensive care settings.
- NIDCAP offers a beneficial approach to support infant well-being during essential ophthalmological screenings.
Abstract:
BackgroundEye examination is one of the painful procedures for infants. Eye screening for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is an essential intervention to prevent visual impairment in preterm infants. However, Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) is a well-established framework for all of the interventions on premature infants, and pain management is the main subject of this program.PurposeThe aim of this study is to determine the effect of NIDCAP on the pain caused by eye examination for ROP screening.MethodsIn this non-randomized controlled clinical trial, 60 infants were classified in two groups (30 infants in the intervention group and 30 infants in the control group). The infants of the intervention group underwent NIDCAP protocols before, during, and after the examination and the infants of the control group received routine cares. Then, according to PIPP tool, level of pain in the two groups was evaluated.ResultsThe two groups were homogeneous in terms of demographic variables. The results showed that the interventions group experienced significantly lower increases in heart rate during exams (p = 0.001). The reduction of oxygen saturation during the examination in the intervention group was less than the control group, which was not statistically significant (p = 0.577). The two groups have no difference in behavioral status score during examination. While facial scores during the examination in the intervention group were significantly lower than the control group (p = 0.011). In terms of the total score of pain during examination, the newborns of the intervention group have a significantly lower pain score than the control group (p = 0.033).
