Effect on Pain of an Oral Sucrose Solution vs. Placebo in Children 1 to 3Months Old Needing Nasopharyngeal Aspiration: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Abstract

Oral sweet solutions have been proposed as effective pain-reducing agents for procedures. To compare the efficacy of an oral sucrose solution vs. placebo in alleviating pain in children (1-3months) during nasopharyngeal aspiration (NPA). A randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial was conducted in a pediatric hospital emergency department. Participants (aged 1-3months) requiring NPA were randomly allocated to receive 2mL of 88% sucrose (SUC) or 2mL of a placebo (PLA) 2min prior to the procedure. The primary outcome was the mean difference in pain scores at 1min post NPA as assessed by the Face, Legs, Activity, Cry and Consolability (FLACC) Pain Scale. Seventy-two participants completed the study, 37 receiving SUC and 35 PLA. The mean difference in FLACC scores compared with baseline was 3.3 (2.5-4.1) for SUC vs. 3.2 (2.3-4.1) for PLA (p=.094) at 1min and -1.2 (-1.7-0.7) for SUC vs. -0.8 (-1.5 to -0.1) for PLA (p=0.66) at 3min after NPA. For the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale scores, it was 2.3 (1.6-3.0) (SUC) vs. 2.5 (1.8-3.2) (PLA) (p=.086) at 1min and -1.2 (-1.6 to -0.8) (SUC) vs. -0.8 (-1.3 to 0.2) (PLA) (p=0.59) 3min after NPA. There was no difference in the mean crying time, 114 (98-130) s, SUC vs. 109 (92-126) s, PLA (p=0.81). No significant difference was found in participants' heart rate at 1min 174 (154-194) beats/min in SUC vs. 179 (160-198) beats/min in PLA (p=0.32). In infants (1-3months) undergoing NPA, administration of an oral sweet solution did not statistically decrease pain scores.