Pain relief in premature neonates during upper airway aspiration comparing positions

Abstract

| INTRODUCTION: Premature newborns have survived long periods of time in neonatal intensive care units. In these patients, the pain, the result of intrusive interventions, is a concern of multidisciplinary teams. OBJECTIVE: To identify the best intervention for pain relief during the suction of the upper airway, nest positioning with containment in swaddling. METHODS: The Before and After type of study was conducted in preterm infants with less than 32 weeks at birth, who required aspiration of the airways in the first week of life. In the Before Group, patients were placed in the nest, and in the After Group, they remained contained in swaddling. The design of the studio allows patients to have their own controls and participate in the study more than once, according to the need for suction. The study was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee. RESULTS: 22 premature newborns participated who were submitted to 100 procedures for suction of the upper airway. According to the dependent statistical analysis, it will be found that the individuals who usually score the pain at the time they place themselves in the score, when they are contained, by the Neonatal Pain Scale (p=0.001) and the Profile of Premature Infant Pain (p=0.01). Less variation in heart rate was observed in patients in the containment group. CONCLUSION: The pain is present in the suction of the upper airway. Heart rate varies in a smaller percentage in the containment group. The patients of containment did not obtain a positive pain score.