Sucrose analgesia for minor procedures in newborn infants

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of intraoral sucrose and other sweet-tastin g solutions for the management of pain associated with minor procedures in newborns. DATA SOURCES: A search of MEDLINE articles from 1966 to August 1999 and an extensive review of journals was conducted. MeSH headings included analgesi a, sucrose, and neonate. DATA SYNTHESIS: Newborn infants regularly undergo minor invasive procedures for which analgesics are not routinely used. Intraoral sucrose and other s weet-tasting solutions appear to diminish surrogate biomarkers of pain resp onse as evidenced by a reduction in crying time, smaller increases in heart rate, and lower pain scale ratings. CONCLUSIONS: These studies appear to suggest that sucrose solution 0.5 g pr ovides effective analgesia with no reported adverse effects.