Kangaroo mother care verses oral sucrose for pain control in premature neonates on heel prick: a randomized control trial

Background: Preterm Neonates receiving intensive care are subjected to multiple painful procedures as part of their intensive care management. Pain leads to abnormal neurodevelopment, so it is extremely important to treat and reduce pain. Multiple studies have shown to be beneficial in pain control. Objective was to compare the efficacy of Kangaroo Mother Care with oral sucrose for pain management in premature neonates on heel prick. Methods: A total of 100 preterm neonates (28-36 weeks) who fulfill the inclusion and exclusion criteria were recruited for the study. Randomization was done and fifty participants per study arm were randomly assigned to the KMC and oral sucrose group. Preterm babies in the KMC group were given KMC for 15 minutes uninterrupted prior to heel prick. In oral sucrose group, two minutes prior to the procedure, baby received 0.5ml of 24% oral sucrose solution by syringe onto the tongue. The remainder of the total recommended dose was given as needed in small increments during the procedure. Assessment of pain done using PIPP. The post-procedural PIPP score was compared between KMC and oral sucrose groups. Results: Analysis of 100 preterm neonates (50 KMC and 50 oral sucrose) were done. Baseline variables were mean±SD gestational age 34.25±1.42 weeks, age 7.15±4.9 days, birth weight 1.72±0.32 kg. Post procedural PIPP score was less in KMC 5.16±1.58 group compared to oral sucrose 5.48±1.81 group but could not achieve statistical significance p=0.35, 95% CI=−0.99,0.35. Conclusions: KMC and oral sucrose are equally effective for pain management in premature neonates on heel prick but KMC is considered better compared to oral sucrose.