The Effect of Oral Glucose and Non-nutritive Sucking in Reducing Needle-Related Procedural Pain among Infants

Abstract

Pain is a stressful experience that is considered to be a global health problem, and children are the most vulnerable and under-served population. Relief of pain is a basic need and right of all children. Treating infants' pain is essential for many reasons, both clinical and ethical. Therefore, it is essential to find simple, acceptable, and well-tolerated methods to reduce pain in these infants (Stevens et al, 2011). A number of non-pharmacological techniques provide coping strategies that reduce pain perception, make pain more tolerable, decrease anxiety, and enhance the effectiveness of analgesics. All these strategies are safe, noninvasive and inexpensive and most are independent nursing functions (Hockenberry et al., 2011). A sweet solution, such as glucose, can be used for analgesia for minor procedural pain, in infants up to 12 months of age (Paul et al., 2013). Non-nutritive sucking can be used to provide the infant with a source of self-consolation and self-regulation (Hatfield, 2013). Pain management is a very important aspect of nursing care of the pediatric patient. According to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), Special Interest Group on Pain in Childhood (2005), pain relief is a basic need and human right. Since 2001, pain management standards require that providers be educated in the assessment and management of pain. The role of the nurse in pain management encompasses the entire nursing process. The nurse assesses for the presence of pain, plans pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain management strategies with the medical team, implements the plan, and evaluates the effectiveness of the interventions (Stanley and Pollard, 2013).