Acute painful procedures pain in the preterm newborn in a neonatal unit

Abstract

Objective: to analyze the number of acute painful procedures and pain management in preterm newborn in a neonatal unit. Method: a cross-sectional and descriptive study was conducted in a neonatal unit of a public health institution. The newborns younger than 35 weeks were the participants in the survey. Results: seventeen preterm newborns were included. A total of 729 painful procedures were quantified. On average, 42.9 procedures per newborn were performed during the first 14 days of birth, and approximately three procedures performed per day service by child. The most common procedure was the hell-stick (23.9%). The predominant management was facilitated tucking (32.7%). The CPAP prongs insertion/reinsertion was the second most performed procedure. Conclusions: The present study showed that the management of pain in the preterm newborns in a neonatal unit is strongly neglected by the professionals.