Department of children health and diseases nursing, Institute of health sciences, Saglik Bilimleri University, 34668 Istanbul, Turkey.
Department of children health and diseases nursing, Faculty of health sciences, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, 17020 Canakkale, Turkey.
Arch Pediatr. 2021 May;28(4):278-284. doi: 10.1016/j.arcped.2021.02.015. Epub 2021 Mar 11.
This study was designed to investigate the effect of foot reflexology on alleviating term neonates' invasive pain caused by heel lance.
In this quasi-experimental study, 60 healthy neonates were recruited and divided into a reflexology group (n=30) and a control (n=30) group. The study design was quasi-experimental since the randomisation method was not used in the assignment of newborns to the groups. While the reflexology group received foot reflexology for an average of 20min before heel lance, the control group received no intervention. The elicited data were analysed using descriptive statistics and independent t-test.
The reflexology and the control groups were similar in terms of age, gestational week, Apgar score, weight, height, and sex (P>0.05). The Neonatal infant pain scale (NIPS) scores of the newborns in the reflexology group after the heel lance procedure were found to be significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). It was also found that reflexology had a significant effect on the neonates' heart rate before heel lance (P<0.05) and a borderline effect during heel lance. Moreover, it was observed that the application of foot reflexology shortened the experimental-group neonates' crying periods after the procedural pain (P<0.05). However, reflexology had no statistically significant effect on the duration of heel lance in both groups (P>0.05).
The application of foot reflexology before invasive procedures, such as heel lance in newborns, is an effective non-pharmacological method for reducing invasive pain. Thus, reflexology could be used to reduce neonates' pain and soothe them during painful procedures such as heel lance.
本研究旨在探讨足部反射疗法对缓解足跟采血引起的足月新生儿侵入性疼痛的影响。
在这项准实验研究中，招募了 60 名健康新生儿，分为反射疗法组（n=30）和对照组（n=30）。由于新生儿被分配到组中的随机化方法未使用，因此研究设计为准实验。在足跟采血前，反射疗法组平均接受足部反射疗法 20 分钟，对照组则不进行干预。使用描述性统计和独立 t 检验分析得出的数据。
反射疗法组和对照组在年龄、胎龄、阿普加评分、体重、身高和性别方面相似（P>0.05）。在足跟采血后，反射疗法组新生儿的新生儿疼痛量表（NIPS）评分明显低于对照组（P<0.05）。还发现，在足跟采血前，反射疗法对新生儿的心率有显著影响（P<0.05），在足跟采血过程中则有边缘影响。此外，观察到足部反射疗法缩短了实验组新生儿在程序性疼痛后哭泣的时间（P<0.05）。然而，在两组中，反射疗法对足跟采血的持续时间均无统计学意义（P>0.05）。
在足跟采血等侵入性操作前应用足部反射疗法是一种减轻侵入性疼痛的有效非药物方法。因此，反射疗法可以用于减轻新生儿的疼痛，并在足跟采血等疼痛操作过程中安抚他们。
