Abstract
Objective
To qualify and quantify clinical practices related to pain assessment and non-pharmacologic analgesia (NPA) in newborns in Spanish public maternity hospitals
Study design
We surveyed providers online regarding their use of pain assessment scales, NPA interventions in neonates undergoing procedures, as well parents’ presence or absence during interventions.
Results
The number of painful procedures and the subjective grading of pain from the responding physicians were similar in all hospitals. Only 12.5% of hospitals used pain scales. No NPA was employed in 37.7% of procedures, with less NPA used in the lower complexity hospitals for venous extraction (p < 0.001) and gastric lavage (p = 0.001). Respondents reported parents’ absence during 56.1% of procedures.
Conclusions
Available pain assessment scales and NPA interventions to mitigate pain are being underused. The presence of the parents during painful interventions is low despite the evidence that this may help to reduce newborns’ perception of pain.
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the editorial assistance of Cynthia N. Lank (Halifax, Canada).
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BCB designed the data collection instruments, coordinated and supervised data collection, collected data, and drafted the initial manuscript. ARR collected data. CAS collected data. ARV collaborated with the study design and did the statistical analysis. ROV conceptualized the study and critically reviewed the manuscript. MAMG conceptualized and designed the study, collected data, and reviewed and revised the manuscript. All authors approved the final manuscript as submitted and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
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Castillo Barrio, B., Rasines Rodríguez, A., Aneiros Suanzes, C. et al. A survey of procedural pain assessment and non-pharmacologic analgesic interventions in neonates in Spanish public maternity units. J Perinatol 40, 1764–1769 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-020-00800-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-020-00800-1