Non Pharmacological Analgesia for Newborns

Carlo   V.   Bellieni; Giuseppe      Buonocore

Abstract

In the last few years much attention has been devoted to neonatal analgesia, and in particular nonpharmacological analgesia. We know the effectiveness of oral sucrose administration and non-nutritional sucking and some papers exist on these topics. However, there has not been any review of applications of non-pharmacological analgesia. Here we examine the above two methods and other strategies described in the literature, among which: oral glucose, fructose milk or sweeteners; breastfeeding; cuddling; music; vestibular stimulation; kangaroo care, Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP); sensorial saturation, springloaded lances, supine position, swaddling and facilitated tucking. Seventy-seven studies assessing the efficacy of non-pharmacologic procedures for relieving pain in neonates were identified. It emerges from this review that certain strategies can be combined with oral sucrose and non-nutritional sucking to provide effective and almost complete analgesia for acute pain in neonates.

Keywords: Analgesia, newborn, sucrose, glucose, pain

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