479 - Effectiveness of oral sucrose for preterm infants undergoing point-of-care lung ultrasound: A randomized controlled trial

Poster Number: 479
Publication Number: 479.1548

Background: While lung ultrasound (LUS) is generally considered a painless procedure, recent literature suggests impacts on physiological parameters and distress/pain.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of oral 24% sucrose solution plus pacifier compared to pacifier alone on alleviating distress/pain and physiological parameters during LUS.

Design/Methods: A two-arm randomized controlled trial involving preterm infants ( < 37 weeks GA) was conducted from November 2020 to January 2023. Infants were randomly assigned to one of the two intervention groups: the “oral sucrose + pacifier” group or the “pacifier” only group. In both groups, the designated intervention was administered 2 minutes prior to the start of the LUS scan. Pain was assessed using the Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP) at four different time points: baseline 30 second-before the scan, 30 seconds into the scan, midway through the scan, and 30 seconds after the scan. The primary outcome was the change in PIPP scores between the two groups. Demographic characteristics were examined using descriptive statistics, and the changes in PIPP scores between groups over time were analyzed through repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA). Data analysis was conducted using SAS software (version 9.4, North Carolina, USA)

Results: A total of 56 preterm infants were enrolled in the study, with 29 assigned to oral sucrose + pacifier, and 27 to pacifier only group. Baseline characteristics were not statistically significant different between the two groups) p > 0.05, Table 1). The means (SD) of PIPP scores measured at the 4 time points were not statistically significant different between the groups (p > 0.05, Tables 2 and 3). Furthermore, physiological parameters of heart rate, oxygen saturation, and the duration of procedure was not statistically different between the two groups (p > 0.05).

Conclusion(s): In preterm infants undergoing LUS, the administration of oral sucrose did not demonstrate any additional benefits beyond using a pacifier alone.