Assessment and management of pain in newborns hospitalized in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: a cross-sectional study

Authors

  • Natália Pinheiro Braga Sposito Universidade de São Paulo; Hospital Universitário
  • Lisabelle Mariano Rossato Universidade de São Paulo; Escola de Enfermagem
  • Mariana Bueno Universidade de São Paulo; Escola de Enfermagem
  • Amélia Fumiko Kimura Universidade de São Paulo; Escola de Enfermagem
  • Taine Costa Hospital Infantil Waldemar Monastier
  • Danila Maria Batista Guedes Universidade de São Paulo; Escola de Enfermagem

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/1518-8345.1665.2931

Keywords:

Pain Measurement, Pain Management, Infant, Newborn, Neonatal Nursing

Abstract

Objective: to determine the frequency of pain, to verify the measures adopted for pain relief during the first seven days of hospitalization in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and to identify the type and frequency of invasive procedures to which newborns are submitted. Method: cross-sectional retrospective study. Out of the 188 hospitalizations occurred during the 12-month period, 171 were included in the study. The data were collected from the charts and the presence of pain was analyzed based on the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale and on nursing notes suggestions of pain. For statistical analysis, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences was used, and the significance level was set at 5%. Results: there was at least one record of pain in 50.3% of the hospitalizations, according to the pain scale adopted or nursing note. The newborns underwent a mean of 6.6 invasive procedures per day. Only 32.5% of the pain records resulted in the adoption of pharmacological or non-pharmacological intervention for pain relief. Conclusion: newborns are frequently exposed to pain and the low frequency of pharmacological or non-pharmacological interventions reinforces the undertreatment of this condition.

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Published

2017-01-01

Issue

Section

Original Articles

How to Cite

Assessment and management of pain in newborns hospitalized in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: a cross-sectional study. (2017). Revista Latino-Americana De Enfermagem, 25, e2931-. https://doi.org/10.1590/1518-8345.1665.2931