Sucrose vs. skin to skin care for preterm neonatal pain control—a randomized control trial

Objectiveto compare the efficacy of ssc with oral sucrose for pain management in preterm neonates.methodologyparallel-group, assessor-blinded randomized control trial conducted from february-june 2017 at a level 3b-nicu. hundred preterm neonates (29-0/7 to 36-6/7 weeks gestational age) requiring heel-stick were randomly assigned (1:1), to ssc (50, group-a) and sucrose (50, group-b). in group-a, ssc was provided at least 10 min before the procedure. in group-b, 0.2 ml of oral sucrose was provided 2 min before the procedure. blinded assessment of premature infant pain profile (pipp) score was done 30 s post-procedure using recorded videos.resultsbaseline variables were [mean(sd)] gestational age [32.79(2.34) weeks], age [14.04(11.10) days] and birth weight [1.62(0.35) kilograms]. pipp score was less in group- a vs. b but could not achieve statistical significance [mean(sd): 7.74(2.43) vs. 8.1(2.82), p = 0.50 ci of the difference: (−1.40,0.68)].conclusionsssc and sucrose have comparable efficacy in managing pain in premature neonates.