Effect of concomitant opioid analgesics and oral sucrose during heel lancing
Section snippets
Statistical analysis
Continuous outcomes of heart rate, oxygen saturation and crying time were summarized using mean and standard deviation for normally distributed variables, and compared between the two groups using linear regression. Skewed variables were summarized using median and interquartile range (IQR), and compared using Wilcoxon's rank-sum test. Categorical outcomes of facial expression scores were summarized using counts and percentages, and compared using logistic regression. To account for potential
Results
NFCS scores at the time point “upon heel lance” are presented only, as scores other than zero, at all other time points throughout the heel lance procedure, were infrequently assigned. Results showed that the lowest facial score of zero was recorded most frequently when sucrose alone was administered, and less often when both morphine and sucrose were administered together. The highest score of four was recorded more frequently when both morphine and sucrose were administered together. As shown
Discussion
In a longitudinal cohort study of effectiveness of oral sucrose during heel lance in sick infants hospitalized for prolonged periods, facial expression scores were higher and crying times longer when concomitant opioid analgesics were being administered than at times when sucrose only was administered. Although these differences were not statistically significant, they may be clinically important as they contribute to the knowledge about effectiveness of sweet solutions in the context of opioid
Conflict of interest
There are no financial or personal conflicts of interest to report for any authors which could inappropriately bias the results of this study.
Acknowledgment
The first author, Denise Harrison was supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award and Trainee Research Scholarship through the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute at the time this study was conducted.
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