Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2013;68(2):199-204.
doi: 10.6061/clinics/2013(02)oa13.

Oral glucose for pain relief during examination for retinopathy of prematurity: a masked randomized clinical trial

Marlene Coelho da Costa  1 , Gabriela Unchalo Eckert, Barbara Gastal Borges Fortes, João Borges Fortes Filho, Rita C Silveira, Renato S Procianoy
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Oral glucose for pain relief during examination for retinopathy of prematurity: a masked randomized clinical trial

Marlene Coelho da Costa et al. Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2013.

Abstract

Objective: Ophthalmologic examination for retinopathy of prematurity is a painful procedure. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions have been proposed to reduce pain during eye examinations. This study aims to evaluate the analgesic effect of 25% glucose using a validated pain scale during the first eye examination for retinopathy of prematurity in preterm infants with birth weight <1,500 g and/or gestational age <32 weeks.

Methods: A masked, randomized clinical trial for one dose of 1 ml of oral 25% glucose solution 2 minutes before the first ophthalmologic examination for retinopathy of prematurity was conducted between March 2008 and April 2010. The results were compared to those of a control group that did not receive oral glucose solution. Pain was evaluated using a Neonatal Infant Pain Scale immediately before and immediately after the ophthalmologic examination in both groups. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT00648687

Results: One hundred and twenty-four patients who were examined for the first time for retinopathy of prematurity were included. Seventy were included in the intervention group and 54 in the control group. The number of patients with pain immediately before the procedure was similar in both groups. The number of patients with pain after ophthalmologic examination was 15.7% in the intervention group and 68.5% in the control group (p<0.001).

Conclusions: One ml of oral 25% glucose solution given 2 minutes before an ophthalmologic examination for retinopathy of prematurity was an effective measure for pain relief.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram for the included patients in each step of the study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
NIPS score variation before and after the eye examination.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Fielder AR, Reynolds JD. Retinopathy of prematurity: clinical aspects. Semin Neonatol. 2001;6(6):461–75. - PubMed
    1. Belda S, Pallas CR, De la Cruz J, Tejada P. Screening for retinopathy of prematurity: is it painful. Biol Neonate. 2004;86(3):195–200. - PubMed
    1. Rush R, Rush S, Ighani F, Anderson B, Irwin M, Naqvi M. The effects of comfort care on the pain response in preterm infants undergoing screening for retinopathy of prematurity. Retina. 2005;25(1):59–62. - PubMed
    1. Rush R, Rush S, Nicolau J, Chapman K, Naqvi M. Systemic manifestations in response to mydriasis and physical examination during screening for retinopathy of prematurity. Retina. 2004;24(2):242–5. - PubMed
    1. Laws DE, Morton C, Weindling M, Clark D. Systemic effects of screening for retinopathy of prematurity. Br J Ophthalmol. 1996;80(5):425–8. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data