Impact of Shot Blocker on Alleviating Peripheral Intravenous Cannulation Associated Pain among School-Aged Children: A RandomizedControlledTrial

Abstract

Background: The aim of this research is to examine the effectiveness of ShotBlocker in reducing pain to enhance school-age patients' experience with intravenous cannulation. Nurses need to explore non-pharmacological approaches during intravenous cannulation to pain management while adhering to ethical and legal principles. Objective: To investigate effectiveness of ShotBlocker and ShotBlocker placebo in reducing pain during intravenous cannulation in school age children's patients. Methods: A Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) that is comparative and prospective, was used. The study was conducted on 228 school age children's patients (6-12 years) who undergo intravenous cannulation in Emergency Departments (EDs). Three groups of patients were randomly assigned: ShotBlocker group (n=79), ShotBlocker placebo group (n=75), and control group (n=74). The patients were requested to evaluate the level of pain immediately following Peripheral Intravenous Line (PIV) procedure using the Wong–Baker Faces Pain Scale. Results: This study showed P-value=0.000 indicated that there are statistically significant differences in pain intensity among the ShotBlocker, ShotBlocker placebo, and control groups. In comparison to both the ShotBlocker placebo and control group, the ShotBlocker group's pain intensity was significantly reduced (mean difference 1.74684). Furthermore, there were higher pain levels noted in the ShotBlocker placebo (mean difference 8.50667) and control group (mean difference 8.757). Conclusions: When compared the ShotBlocker group with ShotBlocker placebo and control groups, the study discovered that the ShotBlocker use was effective in minimizing the levels of pain associated with the intravenous cannulation.