Sucrose analgesia for minor procedures in newborn infants

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of intraoral sucrose and other sweet-tasting solutions for the management of pain associated with minor procedures in newborns. DATA SOURCES: A search of MEDLINE articles from 1966 to August 1999 and an extensive review of journals was conducted. MeSH headings included analgesia, sucrose, and neonate. DATA SYNTHESIS: Newborn infants regularly undergo minor invasive procedures for which analgesics are not routinely used. Intraoral sucrose and other sweet-tasting solutions appear to diminish surrogate biomarkers of pain response as evidenced by a reduction in crying time, smaller increases in heart rate, and lower pain scale ratings. CONCLUSIONS: These studies appear to suggest that sucrose solution 0.5 g provides effective analgesia with no reported adverse effects.

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