Non-nutritive Sucking and Nesting Greatly Reduces Pain During Retinopathy Screening in Premature Infants

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of non-nutritive sucking combined with nesting in the reduction of pain associated with fundus oculi screening in premature infants. Methods: A randomised clinical trial involving fundus oculi screening was carried out in 120 healthy premature infants. Infants assigned to the intervention group received non-nutritive sucking and nesting, while the control group simply received routine nursing. Pain was assessed using the Premature Infant Pain Profile before and during the eye examination. Simultaneously, we evaluated a range of physiological parameters and crying time. Results: There were no significance differences between the control group and the intervention group in terms of gestational age, corrected gestational age or mean birth weight at retinopathy of prematurity screening. However, the intervention group showed a significantly lower mean Premature Infant Pain Profile score after fundus oculi screening compared to the control group (P<0.05). Significant differences between the two groups were also identified in crying time, heart rate, breathing rate, oxygen saturation, blood pressure and facial expression. Conclusion: Non-nutritive sucking, combined with nesting, alleviated pain in premature infants during retinopathy of prematurity screening, and appeared to provide infants with a feeling of warmth and safety. This technique is worth promoting for use during retinopathy of prematurity screening.