Trial reportActa paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)2016
Does noninvasive electrical stimulation of acupuncture points reduce heelstick pain in neonates?
Trial report in Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 6 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Acupuncture for procedural pain in newborn infants.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Acupuncture for neonatal abstinence syndrome in newborn infants.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Non-pharmacological interventions for the prevention of pain during endotracheal suctioning in ventilated neonates.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Sucrose analgesia for heel-lance procedures in neonates.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Non-pharmacological management of infant and young child procedural pain.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation of acupuncture points improves tolerance in adults undergoing diagnostic upper gastrointestinal endoscopy: a single-center, double-blinded, randomized controlled trial.Surgical endoscopy · 2024Trial
- Effect of Acupoint Stimulation on Controlling Pain from Heel Lance in Neonates: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Evaluation and Treatment of Pain in Fetuses, Neonates and Children.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Neonatal heart rate variability: a contemporary scoping review of analysis methods and clinical applications.BMJ open · 2021Article
- Acupuncture for pediatric pain: The trend of evidence-based research.Journal of traditional and complementary medicine · 2020Review
- Culturally Based Practice in Neonatal Procedural Pain Management: A Mini Review.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2020Review
- Pediatric Integrative Medicine in Academia: Stanford Children's Experience.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2018Review
- A Review of Non-Pharmacological Treatments for Pain Management in Newborn Infants.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2018Review
- Laser Acupuncture at Large Intestine 4 Compared with Oral Glucose Administration for Pain Prevention in Healthy Term Neonates Undergoing Routine Heel Lance: Study Protocol for an Observer-Blinded, Randomised Controlled Clinical Trial.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
aimNoninvasive electrical stimulation at acupuncture points (NESAP) for analgesia is used in children, but has not been widely studied in neonates. The purpose of this study was to determine whether NESAP alone or in combination with sucrose relieved heelstick pain in neonates.
methodsTerm neonates (n = 162) receiving routine heelsticks for newborn screening were enrolled following parental consent. All infants received facilitated tucking and non-nutritive sucking. Neonates were randomised to standard care, sucrose, NESAP or sucrose plus NESAP. NESAP (3.5 mA, 10 Hz) or sham was administered over four acupuncture points. The Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP), heart rate variability (HRV) and salivary cortisol were used to measure heelstick pain.
resultsPIPP scores among all four treatment groups increased during heelstick, F (9,119) = 1.95, p = 0.05 and NESAP therapy had no significant effect on PIPP scores. However, PIPP scores from baseline to heelstick increased the most in the two groups not receiving sucrose (p < 0.01). Mean PIPP scores remained below five during the heelstick in all four groups, indicating minimal or no pain. Differences in HRV and salivary cortisol among groups were insignificant.
conclusionNESAP at 3.5 mA, 10 Hz is not effective in relieving pain during heelsticks in neonates.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.