Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain
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Multicenter Study
Analgesic techniques in minor painful procedures in neonatal units: a survey in northern Italy.
The aim of this survey was to evaluate the current practice regarding pain assessment and pain management strategies adopted in commonly performed minor painful procedures in Northern Italian Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). ⋯ This study found a low adherence to national and international guidelines for analgesia in minor procedures: the underuse of neonatal pain scales (33%), sucrose solution administration before heel lance (23.3%), topical anesthetics before venipuncture, or other analgesic techniques. The presence of written pain control guidelines in these regions of Northern Italy increased in recent years (from 25% to 66%).