Trial reportEarly human development2009
Kangaroo Care modifies preterm infant heart rate variability in response to heel stick pain: pilot study.
Trial report in Early human development, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04560374 (The Effect of Using Crochet Octopus in Reducing The Pain Developed During The Process of Heel Lance İn Neonates), which is not on this map. Cited by 48 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Effect of Using Crochet Octopus in Reducing The Pain Developed During The Process of Heel Lance İn Neonates: A Randomized Controlled Study
Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 159 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review and multivariate meta-analysis of the physical and mental health benefits of touch interventions.Nature human behaviour · 2024Pooled it
- Non-pharmacological management of infant and young child procedural pain.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Kangaroo Care for Relieving Neonatal Pain Caused by Invasive Procedures: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Computational intelligence and neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- Development of locally relevant clinical guidelines for procedure-related neonatal analgesic practice in Kenya: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The Lancet. Child & adolescent health · 2020Pooled it
- Skin-to-skin care for procedural pain in neonates.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Development of Cardiovascular Indices of Acute Pain Responding in Infants: A Systematic Review.Pain research & management · 2016Pooled it
- Kangaroo Mother Care and Neonatal Outcomes: A Meta-analysis.Pediatrics · 2016Pooled it
- Non-pharmacological management of infant and young child procedural pain.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015Pooled it
- Effects of daily kangaroo care on cardiorespiratory parameters in preterm infants.Journal of neonatal-perinatal medicine · 2013Trial
- Short-time effect of the kangaroo position on electromyographic activity of premature infants: a randomized clinical trial.Jornal de pediatriaTrial
- Influence of skin to skin contact on cardiac indices and cerebral perfusion-oxygenation in severely asphyxiated infants.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2026Article
- Autonomic nervous system maturation in preterm neonates: Correlation with gestational and postmenstrual age (ProMote).PloS one · 2026Article
- Cardiac and behavioural trends in toddler pain distress responses across early development.Scientific reports · 2025Observational
- Impact of Kangaroo mother care on autonomic cardiovascular control in foetal-growth-restricted preterm infants.Pediatric research · 2025Article
- COMFORTneo scale in preterm infants during live performed music therapy-Difference between close physical contact and hand touch contact.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Article
- Early Skin-to-Skin Contact in Preterm Infants: Is It Safe? An Italian Experience.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Impact of Physical Contact on Preterm Infants' Vital Sign Response to Live Music Therapy.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment Regulates Autonomic Markers in Preterm Infants: A Randomized Clinical Trial.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Vital signs as physiomarkers of neonatal sepsis.Pediatric research · 2022Review
- Neonatal heart rate variability: a contemporary scoping review of analysis methods and clinical applications.BMJ open · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundHeel stick is the most common painful procedure for preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units. Resultant pain causes adverse physiological effects in major organ systems. Kangaroo Care (KC), involving mother-infant skin-to-skin contact is a promising analgesic for infant pain; however, the effect of KC on the autonomic nervous system's response to pain is unknown.
aimTo determine if KC results in improved balance in autonomic responses to heel stick pain than the standard method where infants remain in an incubator care (IC) for the heel stick. STUDY
designA randomized cross-over trial. SUBJECTS: Fourteen preterm infants, 30-32 weeks gestational age and less than 9 days postnatal age. OUTCOME MEASURES: Infant behavioral state, heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV) indices including low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF) power, and the LF/HF ratio measured over Baseline, Heel Warming, Heel Stick, and Recovery periods in KC and IC conditions.
resultsHRV differences between KC and IC were that LF was higher in KC at Baseline (p<.01) and at Heel Stick (p<.001), and HF was higher in KC at Baseline than in the IC condition (p<.05). The LF/HF ratio had less fluctuation across the periods in KC than in IC condition and was significantly lower during Recovery in KC than in IC (p<.001).
conclusionsInfants experienced better balance in response in KC than IC condition as shown by more autonomic stability during heel stick. KC may be helpful in mediating physiologic response to painful procedures in preterm infants.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.