Use of facilitated tucking for nonpharmacological pain management in preterm infants: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND

Neonatal care demands attention to interventions that effectively reduce pain with pharmacological and nonpharmacological methods in preterm infants during invasive procedures.

PURPOSE

The aim of this systematic review was to determine the efficacy of facilitated tucking as nonpharmacological pain management in preterm infants.

METHOD

Electronic searches were conducted using the following databases: Ovid, Blackwell Synergy, ScienceDirect, PsychINFO, and CINAHL and with the following key words: facilitated tucking, preterm infant's pain responses, and randomized clinical trials for the period of 1995 to May 2008.

RESULTS

The search generated 15 articles; 5 articles fit to the criteria of the systematic review. The following outcomes were statistically significant: heart rate; increase in oxygen saturation; sleep-wake state; Premature Infant Pain Profile scores; and neonate infant pain scores.

CONCLUSION

The studies reviewed provide important preliminary findings that suggest facilitated tucking may be beneficial to preterm infants in attenuating their responses to painful procedures.