Nonpharmacological techniques to reduce pain in preterm infants who receive heel-lance procedure: a randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: The heel-lance (HL) method for blood collection from the newborn is controversial for the pain it causes. This is the first randomized controlled trial on the management and reduction of pain using the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ("Sonata K. 448") in premature infants hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). This study has compared nonpharmacological techniques with standard procedure for reducing pain during HL procedure.

Methods: Thirty-five premature infants were enrolled, each for 3 HL procedures, of which each was randomized to 1 of the 3 study arms. Arms were then compared in terms of the Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP) changes by analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Results: One hundred five HL procedures were available for analysis (35 standard procedure, 35 music, 35 glucose). Median baseline PIPP was 3, and median PIPP after the HL procedure was 5. PIPP scale change was +3 in the control arm, +1 in the glucose arm, +2 in the music arm (p = .008).

Discussion: Both glucose and music were safe and effective in limiting pain increase when compared to standard procedure in HL procedures in preterm infants.