Effect of Kangaroo Care and Oral Sucrose on Pain in Premature Infants: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Premature infants hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit are routinely exposed to many painful procedures. Pain experienced during the neonatal period may lead to negative outcomes, especially in preterm neonates, hence pain in infants should be reduced. Kangaroo care and oral sucrose are some of the methods that can help reduce pain. Aim: This study aimed to compare the effects of kangaroo care and oral sucrose on pain relief in preterm infants during heel lancing. Methods: Our study involved 64 infants. The infants were randomly divided into two groups using a randomized block design of drawing out slips from a thick, non-transparent envelope. There were 64 slips in this envelope (32 for kangaroo care and 32 for oral sucrose). Kangaroo care was given to the preterm infants in the first group and oral sucrose to those in the second group. In both groups, heart rate and oxygen saturation were measured and pain score was evaluated by two observers using the Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP) before, during, and 2 minutes after blood sampling by heel lancing. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between the groups in favor of the kangaroo group in terms of change in the PIPP values after heel lancing. Kangaroo care is more effective than oral sucrose in pain relief during heel lancing in preterm infants. Conclusions: In addition to many benefits it offers to infants, kangaroo care can be used to reduce pain during painful procedures in premature infants. (c) 2020 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.