• O'Brien Munyao Kyololo, Bonnie Stevens, Denise Gastaldo, and Peter Gisore.
• School of Nursing, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
• Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2014 Nov 1; 99 (6): F464-7.

ObjectivesTo determine the nature and frequency of painful procedures and procedural pain management practices in neonatal units in Kenya.DesignCross-sectional survey.SettingLevel I and level II neonatal units in Kenya.PatientsNinety-five term and preterm neonates from seven neonatal units.MethodsMedical records of neonates admitted for at least 24 h were reviewed to determine the nature and frequency of painful procedures performed in the 24 h period preceding data collection (6:00 to 6:00) as well as the pain management interventions (eg, morphine, breastfeeding, skin-to-skin contact, containment, non-nutritive sucking) that accompanied each procedure.ResultsNeonates experienced a total of 404 painful procedures over a 24 h period (mean=4.3, SD 2.0; range 1-12); 270 tissue-damaging (mean=2.85, SD 1.1; range 1-6) and 134 non-tissue-damaging procedures (mean=1.41, SD 1.2; range 0-6). Peripheral cannula insertion (27%) and intramuscular injections (22%) were the most common painful procedures. Ventilated neonates and neonates admitted in level II neonatal units had a higher number of painful procedures than those admitted in level I units (mean 4.76 vs 2.96). Only one procedure had a pain intensity score documented; and none had been performed with any form of analgesia.ConclusionsNeonates in Kenya were exposed to numerous tissue-damaging and non-tissue-damaging procedures without any form of analgesia. Our findings suggest that education is needed on how to assess and manage procedural pain in neonatal units in Kenya.Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

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