Effect of facilitated tucking on level of heel lance procedural pain among preterm neonates

Introduction and Need: The prevention of pain is important because repeated painful exposures can have deleterious consequences on preterm neonates. Facilitated tucking is a non-pharmacological comfort measure that can relieve procedural pain in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. The nurse or care givers can effectively implement facilitated tucking for reduction of pain in any setting as it is a very simple technique. Therefore, the investigator taken up the study. Objective: To assess the effect of facilitated tucking on level of heel lance procedural pain among preterm neonates admitted in Neonatal Unit. Material and Methods: The study sample comprised of preterm neonates with gestational age less than 37 completed weeks selected by convenience sampling technique and admitted in Neonatal Unit of DMC & H, Ludhiana. The study sample comprised of total 60 preterm neonates with equal number (30 each) of preterm neonates included in control and experimental group. Structured pain scale was used to collect the data. The experimental group was provided with facilitated tucking intervention during heel lance procedure and the control group received only routine hospital care. Video recording of preterm neonates was done from two minutes before, during and till three minutes after heel lance procedure to assess the level of pain. Major Findings: The mean pain score of control group was 7.17±2.73 whereas the mean pain score of experimental group was 8.27±2.67 during heel lance procedure (p=0.121NS). At one minute after heel lance procedure the mean pain score of control group was 3.30±2.18 and in experimental group it was 4.17±3.15 (p=0.221NS), at two minutes after heel lance procedure the mean pain score of control group was 2.23±2.18 while the mean pain score of experimental group was 2.53±2.78 (p=0.643NS). In the control group the mean pain score was 1.73±2.45 whereas in experimental group it was 1.44±1.69 at three minutes after heel lance procedure(p=0.583NS). This difference was found statistically non significant (p>0.05). Conclusion: The findings of the study concluded that facilitated tucking was not statistically effective in reducing the level of pain among experimental group during heel lance procedure and at one, two and three minutes after heel lance procedure, when provided just prior to the heel lance procedure.