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. 2010 Aug;53(8):790-4.
doi: 10.3345/kjp.2010.53.8.790. Epub 2010 Aug 31.

The effect of sucrose on infants during a painful procedure

Kyoung Hwa Joung  1 , Soo Chul Cho
Affiliations

The effect of sucrose on infants during a painful procedure

Kyoung Hwa Joung et al. Korean J Pediatr. 2010 Aug.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of treating the pain among newborn infants associated with a medical procedure with sucrose with regard to overall physiological and behavioral stability.

Methods: 103 newborn infants were enrolled in this study. The control group (n=63) did not receive any treatment. The experimental group (n=40) received 2 mL of 24% sucrose solution two minutes before a routine heel stick. The pain was assessed by measurements of physiological changes [e.g. pulse rate, oxygen saturation, salivary cortisol (hydrocortisone)] and behavioral changes [e.g. crying time, and the neonatal infant pain scale (NIPS) for neonates].

Results: There were no differences among the groups with respect to physiological changes associated with the pain from the procedure. However, there were significant group differences in behavioral changes to the pain. In the control group, the median crying time was 13 seconds, while in the experimental group, the median crying time was 3.5 seconds (P=.000). In the control group the median NIPS score was 4, while in the experimental group the median NIPS score was 2 (P=.000).

Conclusions: These findings suggest that sucrose can be an effective method for the management of stress responses in infants with regard to behavior. However, this treatment had no significant physiological effects.

Keywords: Behavior; Hydrocortisone; Infant; Pain; Saliva; Sucrose.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Comparison of crying time between the control and experimental groups. The line inside the boxes represents the median value, the lower border of the box represents the border of the 25th percentile, and the upper border of the box represents the upper border of the 75th percentile of the observations.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Comparison of the neonatal infant pain scale (NIPS) scores between the control and experimental groups. The line inside the boxes represents the median value, the lower border of the box represents the 25th percentile, and the upper border of the box represents the upper border of the 75th percentile of the observations.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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