A Single Dose of Oral Sucrose Is Enough to Control Pain During Venipuncture: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Maria Elena Cavicchiolo; Marco Daverio; Nadia Battajon; Anna Chiara Frigo; Paola Lago

doi:10.3389/fpain.2022.888076

A Single Dose of Oral Sucrose Is Enough to Control Pain During Venipuncture: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Front Pain Res (Lausanne). 2022 May 11:3:888076. doi: 10.3389/fpain.2022.888076. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Maria Elena Cavicchiolo¹, Marco Daverio², Nadia Battajon³, Anna Chiara Frigo⁴, Paola Lago^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Department of Woman's and Child's Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
² Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Department of Woman's and Child's Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
³ Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Azienda Unità Locale Socio Sanitaria (ULSS) 2 Marca Trevigiana, Treviso, Italy.
⁴ Department of Cardiac-Thoracic-Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.

Abstract

Sucrose is effective in reducing pain during minor procedures in neonates. We evaluated whether a second dose of sucrose was more effective than a single dose during venipuncture. We performed a randomised, double-blind, controlled trial at the NICU of Padua Hospital (August 2016-October 2017). We randomised 72 preterm infants undergoing venipuncture for routine test to a control group, which received a single standard dose of sucrose 2' before the procedure and a placebo 30″ after the venipuncture, and an experimental group in which they received two doses of 24% sucrose 2' before and 30″ after the venipuncture. No difference in pain perception was found between the groups at 30″, 60″ and 120″. In conclusion, we do not recommend a second dose of sucrose during venipuncture in prematures.

Keywords: non-pharmacologic treatment; pain; preterm; skin breaking procedures; sucrose.