Frequency and pain intensity of painful procedures in premature infants hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Background: Various painful therapeutic and diagnostic procedures are performed daily for hospitalized infants. These procedures are very effective in their growth and recovery process. This study was conducted to determine "the frequency and pain intensity of painful procedures in premature infants hospitalized in NICU."

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from February 10, 2023 to April 10, 2023 on all infants who met the inclusion criteria and were admitted to NICU. The data collection tool was a multi-part questionnaire including demographic data, types of painful procedures, and NIPS pain scale. After collecting the data, it was entered into SPSS23 software and analyzed at a significance level of less than 0.05.

Results: The highest frequency of painful procedures in each of the neonates during hospitalization, respectively, was related to orogastric tube insertion (24.43 ± 20.17), venipuncture (3.81 ± 1.03), IV cannula removal (3.74 ± 0.90) and intravenous insertion (3.72 ± 1.10). Pain intensity was moderate in 62.1% and severe in 36.2% of procedures. Endotracheal intubation, eye examination, nasogastric tube insertion, heel lance, oral suction, intramuscular injection, nasal suction, intravenous insertion, and venipuncture had the highest intensity of pain, respectively. Pain intensity was significantly higher in infants weighing more than 1500 g (P = 0.007) and gestational age more than 32 weeks (P = 0.031).

Conclusion: Premature infants admitted to the NICU frequently undergo painful procedures with moderate or severe pain intensity. Therefore, it is recommended to use appropriate pain management to increase growth and development, maintain and promote health in infants.