Is oral sucrose a safe and effective analgesic for premature neonatres? An intergratve literature review
Date
2013-02-06
Authors
Tiwana, Palvinder
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Abstract
Babies in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) endure many painful procedures
on a daily basis including nasogastric tube and intravenous insertions, lumbar punctures,
tape removals, and dressing changes. Although these babies experience painful
procedures numerous times during their stay in the NICU, their pain is often
undermanaged or it is not managed at all. There is mounting evidence suggesting that
even a brief painful event in the early years of childhood can cause an altered response to
pain lasting into teenage and adult years (Fitzgerald & Walker, 2009; Johnston,
Fernandes & Campbell-Yeo, 2011; Hermann, Hohmeister, Demirakca, Zohsel & Herta,
2006). A joint statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian
Pediatric Society recommends using nonpharmacological methods, such as oral sucrose,
to reduce neonatal pain from minor but painful procedures (CPS, 2007). Sucrose “is a
naturally occurring sweetener with analgesic effects in young infants” (Taddio, Shah,
Atenafu & Katz, 2009, p. 43). An integrative review of the literature, based on the
Whittemore and Knafl (2005) framework, was conducted to examine the effectiveness
and safety of oral sucrose in premature neonates for procedural pain management. Eleven
quantitative studies were critiqued. Overall, the evidence indicated that sucrose is a safe
and effective analgesic for premature neonates. However, more research is needed to
further explore clinicians’ barriers to administering sucrose.
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Keywords
premature babies, oral sucrose, nursing