The Role of Time Interval Elimination on Pain Control of Preterm Infants by Sucrose Administration

Purpose: It has been demonstrated clearly that sucrose solutions given before a minor painful procedure can reduce pain among newborns. But, there is no fully accepted conclusions about the time scheduling of sucrose administration prior to heel lance. In few sudies, various time intervals between sucrose intake and heel lance procedure has been proposed. The aim of this study was to obtain deeper knowledge of the underlying mechanism by investigating whether a different initiation of heel lance in terms of timing would reduce the effect of orally administered sucrose at heel lance among preterm newborns. Methods: . A randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind trial with a validated, neonatal, pain-scoring scale in Gülhane Medical School Hospital in Ankara, Turkey between March 2019 and January 2021. The trial included 69 preterm newborns undergoing heel lance, who were assigned randomly to 1 of 2 groups, ie, group I, with the 2-minute-time interval of per oral 24% sucrose given prior to heel lance or group II, without a time interval of per oral sucrose given prior to heel lance . Pain-related behaviour during blood sampling was measured with the Premature Infants Pain Profile-Revised (PIPP-R). Crying incidence, time and heart rate were also recorded. Results: . The 2 groups did not differ significantly in PIPP-R scores during heel lance. The median crying time during 1 minutes was 6.5 seconds (range: 1–13 seconds) for the 2-minute-time interval group and 4.5 seconds (range: 1–18 seconds) for the without a time interval group. There was no significant difference in the heart rate between the 2 groups. Conclusion: Eliminating of the time interval did not decrease the analgesic effect of orally administered 24% sucrose given prior to heel lance.