Sweet Solutions to Reduce Procedural Pain in Neonates: A Meta-Analysis

Harrison D, Larocque C, Bueno M, Stokes Y, Turner L, Hutton B, Stevens B. Sweet Solutions to Reduce Procedural Pain in Neonates: A Meta-analysis. Pediatrics. 2017 Jan;139(1). pii: e20160955. doi: 10.1542/peds.2016-0955. Epub 2016 Dec 16. Review. PubMed PMID: 27986905.

Context
Abundant evidence of sweet taste analgesia in neonates exists, yet placebo-controlled trials continue to be conducted.

Objective
To review all trials evaluating sweet solutions for analgesia in neonates and to conduct cumulative meta-analyses (CMAs) on behavioral pain outcomes.

Data Sources
(1) Data from 2 systematic reviews of sweet solutions for newborns; (2) searches ending 2015 of CINAHL, Medline, Embase, and psychINFO.

Data Extraction And Analysis
Two authors screened studies for inclusion, conducted risk-of-bias ratings, and extracted behavioral outcome data for CMAs. CMA was performed using random effects meta-analysis.

Results
One hundred and sixty-eight studies were included; 148 (88%) included placebo/no-treatment arms. CMA for crying time included 29 trials (1175 infants). From the fifth trial in 2002, there was a statistically significant reduction in mean cry time for sweet solutions compared with placebo (−27 seconds, 95% confidence interval [CI] −51 to −4). By the final trial, CMA was −23 seconds in favor of sweet solutions (95% CI −29 to −18). CMA for pain scores included 50 trials (3341 infants). Results were in favor of sweet solutions from the second trial (0.5, 95% CI −1 to −0.1). Final results showed a standardized mean difference of −0.9 (95% CI −1.1 to −0.7).

Limitations
We were unable to use or obtain data from many studies to include in the CMA.

Conclusions
Evidence of sweet taste analgesia in neonates has existed since the first published trials, yet placebo/no-treatment, controlled trials have continued to be conducted. Future neonatal pain studies need to select more ethically responsible control groups.

Disponível Em: <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/>