Efficacy of Oral Glucose in Reducing Behavioural Responses to a Noxious Stimulus in Healthy Term Neonates

Abstract The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of orally administered glucose, at concentrations of 5% and 30%, on the nociceptive behavioural pain response among full-term neonates who underwent the heel puncture technique. This is a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial which was registered at clinicaltrials.gov under the number Makassed General Hospital Protocol Record 1722017 in July 2017. This trial studied the effect of glucose solution on pain relief in 244 full-term healthy neonates who underwent a heel prick procedure. Neonatal pain was assessed using the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) and the duration of cry. The results showed that neonates receiving 30% glucose during the procedure had significantly the lowest mean NIPS (mean=4.89) compared to placebo and 5% group (mean=5.8 and 5.2 respectively) (p=0.03). Neonates in the glucose groups of both 5% (65.9%) and 30% (70.4%) scored significantly as having less pain compared with the placebo group (86.4%) (p=0.01). The neonates in the 30% glucose group cried less and had a significantly shorter crying duration (mean: 39.9 seconds) than in the 5% and placebo groups (p=0.04). Conclusion: 30% glucose and, to a lesser extent, 5% glucose were effective in reducing the behavioral pain response from heel prick procedures in term neonates.