SynthesisPloS one2022
Efficacy and safety of combined oral sucrose and nonnutritive sucking in pain management for infants: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 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
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- The comparative efficacy and safety of sweet solutions to reduce preterm infants' pain levels: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Systematic reviews · 2026Pooled it
- Sucrose analgesia for heel-lance procedures in neonates.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Effect of early lollipop sucking in the post-anesthesia care unit on recovery quality in children undergoing outpatient dental treatment under general anesthesia: a prospective randomized controlled trial.BMC anesthesiology · 2026Trial
- Effect of pacifier and pacifier with dextrose in reducing pain during orogastric tube insertion in newborns: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2024Trial
- Multimodal non-pharmacological pain relief during adhesive tape removal in preterm infants: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2026Article
- Efficacy of Expressed Breast Milk Versus Sweet Solutions for Neonatal Procedural Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Impact of colostrum combined with non-nutritive sucking in non-invasive ventilated very low birth weight preterm infant.BMC pediatrics · 2025Observational
- Invasive procedures and atraumatic care in pediatric nursing practice: nurses' perceptions.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Article
- Evidence summary for pain management during retinopathy of prematurity screening.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Review
- A longitudinal observational study on the epidemiology of painful procedures and sucrose administration in hospitalized preterm neonates.Paediatric & neonatal pain · 2024Article
- Effect of non-pharmacological interventions on pain in preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit: a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.BMC pediatrics · 2024Article
- 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
- Effectiveness of Non-Pharmacological Methods, Such as Breastfeeding, to Mitigate Pain in NICU Infants.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Nurses' Knowledge and Use of Sucrose for Neonatal Pain Management in Saudi Arabia.SAGE open nursingArticle
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 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPain management is currently important in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The superiority in pain relief of the combined oral sucrose (OS) and nonnutritive sucking (NNS) to other single intervention has not been well established. The administration of sucrose has been considered to potentially induce adverse events, which has been controversial. This study aims to investigate the combined effects and safety in comparison with other single intervention methods, including NNS, OS alone, breast milk and oral glucose.
methodsWe searched databases including Medline (via Pubmed), Embase (via Ovid), web of science, and Cochrane Library for randomized controlled trials from Jan 1, 2000 to Mar 31, 2021. The data were analyzed in the meta-analysis using Review manager Version 5.3. Pain score was the primary outcome in this meta-analysis. The adverse events were assessed qualitatively.
resultsA total of 16 studies were eligible in the meta-analysis. The results demonstrated a significant reduction in pain score in the NNS+OS group compared with NNS alone (SMD = -1.69, 95%CI, -1.69,-0.65) or sucrose alone (SMD = -1.39, 95% CI, -2.21,-0.57) during the painful procedures. When compared NNS+OS with breast milk, no significant difference was detected (SMD = -0.19, 95% CI: -0.5, 0.11).
conclusionThe combined effects of NNS and OS might be superior to other single intervention method. However, the effects might be mild for moderate-to-severe pain.
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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.