Comparison of the Effects of Oral Sucrose 30% and 50% on the Pain of Injection of Hepatitis B Vaccine in Newborns

Background: Uncontrolled pain in newborns results in permanent damage to the growth components of cognitive development and changes in response to subsequent painful stimuli. Objectives: The aim of this study was to comparison of the effects of oral sucrose 30% and 50% on the pain of injection of hepatitis B vaccine in newborns. Methods: In these triple-blind clinical trial conducted at Amir-al Momenin Hospital in Semnan, 91 term infants were selected and randomly divided into three groups. Two minutes prior to intramuscular injection of hepatitis B vaccine in the case group, 2 mL of sucrose solution 30% or 50% and in the control group the same volume of sterile water was given orally to the infant. Prior to the administration of sucrose, immediately after injection and 5 minutes after injection the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) was used to assess pain. For statistical data analysis, Mann-Whitney, chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis, One-Way ANOVA and Dunnett tests at a significance level of 5% were used. Results: The results showed that sucrose 30% and 50% significantly reduced pain during, immediately, and 5 minutes after injection (P 0.05). Conclusions: In general, high concentrations of sucrose can relieve the pain of vaccination and can be used in the clinic.