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
. 2016:2016:8458696.
doi: 10.1155/2016/8458696. Epub 2016 Apr 20.

Development of Cardiovascular Indices of Acute Pain Responding in Infants: A Systematic Review

Jordana A Waxman  1 , Rebecca R Pillai Riddell  2 , Paula Tablon  1 , Louis A Schmidt  3 , Angelina Pinhasov  1
Affiliations

Development of Cardiovascular Indices of Acute Pain Responding in Infants: A Systematic Review

Jordana A Waxman et al. Pain Res Manag. 2016.

Abstract

Background. Cardiovascular indices of pain are pervasive in the hospital setting. However, no prospective research has examined the development of cardiac responses to acutely painful procedures in the first year of life. Objectives. Our main goal was to synthesize existing evidence regarding the development of cardiovascular responses to acutely painful medical procedures over the first year of life in preterm and term born infants. Methods. A systematic search retrieved 6994 articles to review against inclusion criteria. A total of 41 studies were included in the review. Results. In response to acutely painful procedures, most infants had an increase in mean heart rate (HR) that varied in magnitude both across and within gestational and postnatal ages. Research in the area of HR variability has been inconsistent, limiting conclusions. Conclusions. Longitudinal research is needed to further understand the inherent variability of cardiovascular pain responses across and within gestational and postnatal ages and the causes for the variability.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Included study flow chart following PRISMA guidelines.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rodkey E. N., Riddell R. P. The infancy of infant pain research: the experimental origins of infant pain denial. Journal of Pain. 2013;14(4):338–350. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2012.12.017. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Schwaller F., Fitzgerald M. The consequences of pain in early life: injury-induced plasticity in developing pain pathways. European Journal of Neuroscience. 2014;39(3):344–352. doi: 10.1111/ejn.12414. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ambuel B., Hamlett K. W., Marx C. M., Blumer J. L. Assessing distress in pediatric intensive care environments: the COMFORT scale. Journal of Pediatric Psychology. 1992;17(1):95–109. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/17.1.95. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Denk F., McMahon S. B., Tracey I. Pain vulnerability: a neurobiological perspective. Nature Neuroscience. 2014;17(2):192–200. doi: 10.1038/nn.3628. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Grunau R. Long-term effects of pain in children. In: McGrath P., Stevens B., Walker S., Zempsky S., editors. Oxford Textbook of Paediatric Pain. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; 2013. pp. 30–38.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources