Pain management during arterial puncture in newborns: a descriptive study

Abstract

Objective: to describe pain relief measures applied by the nursing team during arterial puncture in neonates, and pain scores during the procedure. Method: this descriptive, quantitative study was conducted between October 2018 and January 2019 at a neonatal intensive care unit in northwestern Paraná, by non-participant observation of 192 arterial punctures and measurement of the respective pain scores. The study was approved by the human research ethics committee. Results: of the 192 punctures, only 34 were examined for relief measures and pain scores; the latter were found to be high. The other punctures were excluded for loss of monitoring during the procedure. Conclusion: pain-relief interventions were little used by the team. The observation process found intense pain.