• V Mucignat, S Ducrocq, F Lebas, F Mochel, J J Baudon, and F Gold.
• Service de néonatologie, hôpital Armand-Trousseau, AP-HP, 26, avenue du Dr-Arnold-Netter, 77571 Paris cedex 12, France. v.mucignat@trs.ap-hop-paris.fr
• Arch Pediatr. 2004 Aug 1; 11 (8): 921-5.

ObjectiveTo compare the analgesic effects of non nutritive pacifier sucking, oral administration of a 30% saccharose solution, local application of Emla and their association for subcutaneous injection of erythropoietin (EPO) in preterm infants.MethodsOur study was a randomised, prospective study conducted over 5 months. Neonates with a gestational age below 33 weeks of gestation and older than 8 days of life were included if they were treated with EPO (three subcutaneous injections per week during 6 weeks). For each consecutive EPO injection, patients were randomised between four groups of intervention: non nutritive pacifier sucking (T), oral administration of 0.2-0.5 ml of a 30% saccharose solution with non nutritive pacifier sucking (S), local application of Emla with non nutritive pacifier sucking (E), and oral administration of 0.2-0.5 ml of a 30% saccharose solution with local application of Emla and with non nutritive pacifier sucking (S + E). Each child was its own control. Pain was assessed with the Newborn Acute Pain scale (DAN) and with the Neonatal Facial Coding System (NFCS).ResultsThirty-three neonates were included, representing 265 injections. Distribution was: 41 in group T, 71 in group E, 86 in group S and 67 in group E + S. Mean DAN and NFCS scores were statistically different between groups T, E and S. Analgesic effect of saccharose (-1.05) was greater than Emla (-0.56). Used together, effects were adding up without potentialisation.ConclusionThis study shows that the association of non nutritive pacifier sucking with oral administration of saccharose and local application of Emla has a better analgesic effect than each of these three interventions alone for subcutaneous injection of EPO.

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