Abstract:
Background: Mechanical vibration is an effective analgesic technique for controlling pain, during painful procedures among children and adults. Nevertheless, little information exists about its efficacy and proper application in neonates. We investigated the effect of mechanical vibration on pain during heel-blood sampling in term neonates hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Methodology: In this clinical trial, we used sequential sampling and randomly allocated the participants into intervention group (n = 47) and control group (n = 47). The pain was measured three times; before, during, and after heel lancing. In the intervention group, the vibrator was placed in the middle of the knee cuff at the back of the leg, consistent with the afferent nerve fibers behind the neonate's leg, and vibration was induced for 30 sec. Immediately after the intervention, the heel lancing sampling was performed. The premature infant pain profile (PIPP) was used to measure pain in these neonates. Results: The mean pain score in the intervention group during blood sampling was significantly lower compared to the control group (5.44 ± 1.76 vs. 7.12 ± 1.88; P < 0.05). Moreover, a statistically significant difference was observed in the mean pain score between the intervention and control groups (2.72 ± 1.22 vs. 3.48 ± 1.76; P = 0.017) two min after blood sampling. Conclusion: According to the findings, mechanical vibration positively reduces pain during heel lancing in term neonates hospitalized in the NICU. Hence, this method can be used as one of the beneficial non-pharmacological interventions.
Keywords:
Pain
,
Infants
,
mechanical
,
Vibration
,
Lancet Puncture
,
Neonatal nursing