ReviewChildren (Basel, Switzerland)2022
Effectiveness of Non-Pharmacological Methods, Such as Breastfeeding, to Mitigate Pain in NICU Infants.
Review in Children (Basel, Switzerland), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Nonpharmacological Interventions on Intramuscular Vaccination Pain among Infants: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Control Trials.Journal of caring sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Comparison of different methods for reducing pain during a heel lance in newborns: a randomized trial.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2025Trial
- Effects of hydrotherapy and hammock positioning on pain reduction in preterm neonates.Jornal de pediatriaTrial
- Integrating Music Therapy and Nursing for Neonatal Procedural Support Using a Pacifier Activated Lullaby Device.The American journal of nursing · 2026Article
- Neurodevelopmental care across pediatric critical care settings: toward brain-focused critical care.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Review
- Breastfeeding in Infancy and Adult Health: A Narrative Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Neonatal unit (NU) Infant Medical Trauma and the lifelong implications for children and their families.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- Neonatal pain experience and pain sensitivity trajectories in preterm infants: A longitudinal study of flexion withdrawal reflex thresholds over the first two years of age.The journal of pain · 2025Article
- A Comparative Analysis of Feeding Practices and Oral Immunity in Infants.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Article
- Caregivers' role regarding managing postoperative pain of hospitalised children (0-3 years).Health SA = SA Gesondheid · 2025Article
- Article
- Comparison of breastfeeding, music therapy, and oral sucrose's impact on pain relief among infants during pentavalent vaccination.Journal of education and health promotion · 2024Article
- The Effect of Breastfeeding on Food Allergies in Newborns and Infants.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Routine Use of Analgesia for Venipuncture in a Tertiary Level Neonatal Intensive Care Setting: A Quality Improvement Study.Biomedicine hubArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Neonates do experience pain and its management is necessary in order to prevent long-term, as well as, short-term effects. The most common source of pain in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is caused by medically invasive procedures. NICU patients have to endure trauma, medical adhesive related skin injuries, heel lance, venipuncture and intramuscular injection as well as nasogastric catheterization besides surgery. A cornerstone in pain assessment is the use of scales such as COMFORT, PIPP-R, NIPS and N-PASS. This narrative review provides an up to date account of neonate pain management used in NICUs worldwide focusing on non-pharmacological methods. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have well established adverse side effects and opioids are addictive thus pharmacological methods should be avoided if possible at least for mild pain management. Non-pharmacological interventions, particularly breastfeeding and non-nutritive sucking as primary strategies for pain management in neonates are useful strategies to consider. The best non-pharmacological methods are breastfeeding followed by non-nutritive sucking coupled with sucrose sucking. Regrettably most parents used only physical methods and should be trained and involved for best results. Further research in NICU is essential as the developmental knowledge changes and neonate physiology is further uncovered together with its connection to 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.