Repeating a dose of sucrose for heel prick procedure in preterms is not effective in reducing pain: a randomised controlled trial

Oral sucrose is included in almost all recommendations for treatment of pain in newborns, but evidence if multiple doses might be more effective than a single standard dose is lacking. We designed a single-centre, double-blind, randomised, controlled trial. We enrolled preterm infants needing the heel prick procedure. Each enrolled infant was randomised to receive a single standard dose of sucrose 2 min before or a double dose of sucrose 2 min before, and 30 s after heel prick. Primary outcome was the efficacy of the two interventions tested by the premature infant pain profile-PIPP scale obtained at 30 s, 60 s, and 120 s after heel prick. Secondary outcome was the evaluation of the concordance between the PIPP scale and other pain scores more feasible in clinical practice. Seventy-two infants were randomised. No difference in pain perception as measured by the PIPP scale was found between the groups: median PIPP values 4.0(IQR 3.0-4.0) vs 3.0(IQR 3.0-4.0) at baseline; 6.0(IQR 5.0-10.0) vs 6.0(IQR 4.0-8.5) at 30 s; 6.0(IQR 4.0-7.0) vs 5.0(IQR 4.0-8.5) at 60 s and 5.0(IQR 4.0-7.0) vs 5.0(IQR 4.0-7.5) at 2 min, in the experimental and standard treatment groups, respectively (p = 0.9020). There was no correlation between PIPP scores and other pain scales. Conclusion: We do not recommend doubling the dose during heel prick.What is Known:center dot Oral sucrose is included in almost all international position papers and recommendations for the treatment of mild to moderate pain in newborns, associated with non-nutritive sucking and facilitated tucking center dot Premature infant pain profile (PIPP) scale is the gold standard for evaluation of pain in preterms but it is difficult to use in clinical practiceWhat is New:center dot Repeating a dose of 24% sucrose is not effective in reducing pain during the recovery phase of a skin breaking procedure center dot Other pain scales, easier to use in clinical practice, are not comparable with PIPP for the evaluation of procedural pain in preterms