The effects of oral sucrose on pain due to nasogastric tube insertion in premature infants: A crossover clinical trial

Pain in neonates may have adverse impacts. Therefore, relieving pain through harmless, simple, and applicable methods, in order to prevent its dangerous consequences, is of great importance. The aim of the present study is to determine the impact of oral sucrose on relieving nasogastric tube insertion pain in premature neonates. The present study is a crossover clinical trial on 38 preterm infants (gestational age between 28-34 weeks) hospitalized in Bistonoh-e-Bahman Hospital, Tabriz, Iran, in 2013. The subjects were selected by convenience sampling and divided into two groups using randomized block design. In the first group, nasogastric tube insertion was carried out in the routine way for the first time, and for the second time, by administration of oral sucrose. In the second group, the procedure was performed in the reverse order of that in the first group. In both groups the emerging pain was measured by the Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP) tool 2 minutes before, during, and 5 minutes after the procedure. Data were analyzed using, chi-square t-test, Student's independent test, paired t-test, and repeated measures ANOVA in SPSS version 18 to examine the trend of change in pain in time. P values of less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The results showed that oral sucrose reduces the pain response of infants. The mean pain score during the insertion of nasogastric tube and administration of oral sucrose was 5.95 ± 2.35 and during routine procedures was 9.93 ± 2.89 (P < 0.001). The mean pain score 5 minutes after insertion of nasogastric tube with administration of oral sucrose was 3.66 ± 0.57 and routine procedure was 6.38 ± 0.83 (P = 0.017). It was revealed that oral sucrose can relieve pain caused by nasogastric tube insertion. Therefore, its implementation as a harmless and simple method can reduce pain in preterm infants.