Sucrose Vs. Skin to Skin Care for Preterm Neonatal Pain Control-a Randomized Control Trial

Objective: To compare the efficacy of SSC with oral Sucrose for pain management in preterm neonates.

Methodology: Parallel-group, assessor-blinded randomized control trial conducted from February-June 2017 at a level 3B-NICU. Hundred preterm neonates (29-0/7 to 36-6/7 weeks gestational age) requiring heel-stick were randomly assigned (1:1), to SSC (50, Group-A) and Sucrose (50, Group-B). In Group-A, SSC was provided at least 10 min before the procedure. In Group-B, 0.2 ml of oral Sucrose was provided 2 min before the procedure. Blinded assessment of Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP) score was done 30 s post-procedure using recorded videos.

Results: Baseline variables were [Mean(SD)] gestational age [32.79(2.34) weeks], age [14.04(11.10) days] and birth weight [1.62(0.35) kilograms]. PIPP score was less in group- A vs. B but could not achieve statistical significance [Mean(SD): 7.74(2.43) vs. 8.1(2.82), p = 0.50 CI of the difference: (-1.40,0.68)].

Conclusions: SSC and Sucrose have comparable efficacy in managing pain in premature neonates.