Laser acupuncture compared with oral glucose administration for pain prevention in healthy term neonates undergoing routine heel sticks/lance.

Abstract

Introduction: Non-pharmacological pain management in neonates is an important research field. Oral sweet solutions are actual standard of care for neonatal pain prevention in minor painful interventions. Recent literature suggests that acupuncture at Large Intestine 4 (LI4) produce analgesic effects in clinical and experimental studies. Therefore, this study aims to investigate, if laser acupuncture at LI4 will reduce pain associated with minor painful procedures non-inferior to orally administrated glucose solution. Methods: We included 96 healthy term neonates receiving heel lance on 3rd day of life for metabolic screening. They were randomly assigned to either laser acupuncture group (AG) or oral glucose solution group (GG). Laser acupuncture was applied with Soft-laser 10mW at LI4 for 1 min both sides. GG received 30% glucose solution orally 2 min prior to heel lance. Main outcome parameter pain was evaluated using PIPP (Premature Infant Pain Scale) observer-blinded. Secondary parameters were crying duration or heart rate changes (HR). Statistical analysis was performed in non- inferiority concept (margin:

Datum der Bewilligung	2022
Originalsprache	Englisch
Gradverleihende Hochschule	Medizinische Universität Graz
Betreuer/-in	Alexander Avian (Betreuer*in), Wolfgang Raith (Betreuer*in) & Berndt Urlesberger (Betreuer*in)