Psychosocial and Neurobiological Vulnerabilities of the Hospitalized Preterm Infant and Relevant Non-pharmacological Pain Mitigation Strategies

Ilana Shiff; Oana Bucsea; Rebecca Pillai Riddell

doi:10.3389/fped.2021.568755

Psychosocial and Neurobiological Vulnerabilities of the Hospitalized Preterm Infant and Relevant Non-pharmacological Pain Mitigation Strategies

Front Pediatr. 2021 Oct 25:9:568755. doi: 10.3389/fped.2021.568755. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Ilana Shiff¹, Oana Bucsea¹, Rebecca Pillai Riddell^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
² Department of Psychiatry Research, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
³ Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Abstract

Background: Preterm pain is common in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), with multiple invasive procedures occurring daily. Objective: To review the psychosocial and neurobiological vulnerabilities of preterm infants and to provide an updated overview of non-pharmacological strategies for acute procedural pain in hospitalized preterm infants. Methods: We utilized a narrative review methodology, which also included a synthesis of key pieces of published systematic reviews that are relevant to the current work. Results and Conclusions: Preterm infants are uniquely susceptible to the impact of painful procedures and prolonged separation from caregivers that are often inherent in a NICU stay. Non-pharmacological interventions can be efficacious for mitigating procedural pain for preterm infants. Interventions should continue to be evaluated with high quality randomized controlled trials, and should endeavor to take into account the neurobiological and psychosocial aspects of preterm vulnerability for pain prevention and management strategies.

Keywords: neonatal intensive care unit (NICU); neonate; non-pharmacological; pain; pain management; preterm.

Publication types

Review