Sucrose therapy can reduce infants' pain - Specialty Assembly Meetings - Brief Article

AORN Journal, Jan, 2003

A small dose of sucrose used in conjunction with comforting techniques can relieve and reduce pain in infants undergoing routine procedures, such as needle sticks and IV line placements, according to a Nov 4, 2002, news release from Texas Children's Hospital, Houston. Sucrose, which is available commercially in a 24% solution mixed with water, can be given to almost any infant without producing negative effects. The mixture acts as a narcotic and calms and soothes the infant. The pain relief lasts as long as the procedure and for a short time afterward without the sedation or other side effects of a narcotic analgesic. Before sucrose therapy was implemented at Texas Children's Hospital, infants could not receive pain medication for brief procedures because narcotics are too strong to use for short periods of minor pain.

Infants younger than 35 weeks of age receive a .2-mL dose of sucrose administered by syringe in the side of the mouth every two minutes. This dosage can be administered up to three times during a procedure. Infants older than 35 weeks of age receive a 1-mL dose. Research has shown that nonnutritive sucking also can be effective for minor pain, so infants are offered a pacifier after sucrose is administered. Nurse specialists at the hospital have documented minimal crying, lower heart rates, and lower pain scores in infants who receive sucrose before a minor procedure compared to those who do not.

Sucrose Therapy Found to Reduce Pain in Neonates at Texas Children's Hospital (news release, Houston; Texas Children's Hospital, Nov 4, 2002).