Skin conductance and behavioral pain scales in newborn infants.

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to compare measurements of skin conductance activity for pain with behavioral pain assessment scales. Skin conductance activity, measured by the number of waves per second (NWps) and area under the curve (AUC), was recorded in 41 healthy term newborn infants and compared with scores on the Neonatal Facial Coding System (NFCS), Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS), and COMFORT behavior scale before, during, and after a heel prick. The NWps and AUC (p .001 and .03, respectively) and NFCS, NIPS, and COMFORT scale scores (all p .001) significantly increased during the heel prick. All of the measures were sensitive to the painful event, but no correlations were found between skin conductance activity and scores on these behavioral pain assessment scales. We conclude that skin conductance activity may be a useful and valid measure for acute pain diagnosis. Skin conductance activity can be recorded more quickly than the behavioral scales can be applied and may be helpful in emergency situations or neonates who do not cry, have no facial expressions, or do not present consistent motor activity.