Putting on a brave face: Sugar not effective at relieving pain for babies
Thursday 2 September 2010
Sucrose, a type of sugar, given to newborn babies as a routine form of pain relief does not work, according to a study funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC). Instead, sucrose changes the facial expressions of some babies giving the false impression that pain is being relieved. This could lead to important future changes in the management of pain relief for newborn babies.
The £780,000 MRC-funded trial studied 59 newborn, healthy babies and found that activity in the pain areas of the brain did not alter when they were given sucrose for pain relief. There was little difference between the infants’ leg reflex reactions either, which also indicates discomfort.
Scientists measured pain activity in the brain and spinal cord after babies had undergone a routine heel prick – a standard procedure which is required to collect blood samples from babies as part of their clinical care. Half the babies were given a sucrose solution prior to the prick, as per the standard procedure, and the remainder were given sterilised water. Brain activity was measured using neonatal electroencephalography (EEG) and the spinal cord pain reflex was recorded with electromyography (EMG).
Dr Rebeccah Slater, who led the study at University College London, said:
“Our findings indicate that sucrose is not an effective pain relief drug. This is especially important in view of the increasing evidence that pain may cause short and long-term adverse effects on infant neurodevelopment. While we remain unsure of the impact sucrose has, we suggest that it is not used routinely to relieve pain in infants without further investigation.”
Professor Chris Kennard, chair of the MRC’s Neuroscience and Mental Health funding board, said:
“This trial has significant implications for the management of small babies and is a first class example of where MRC research is rapidly helping to bring scientific discoveries from the laboratory bench to the patient bedside. With uncertainty around the role that pain may play in a baby’s neurodevelopment, this type of research is important in ensuring newborn babies receive the most appropriate treatment when undergoing certain procedures.”
Oral sucrose is frequently given to relieve procedural pain in newborn babies who undergo procedures, such as taking blood from a vein and injections, in addition to heel pricks.
The paper, ‘Oral sucrose as an analgesic drug for procedural pain in newborn infants: a randomised controlled trial’ is published in The Lancet today. The study was funded by the Medical Research Council.
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For more information or to speak with one of the scientists, please call the MRC press office on: 0207 637 6011 or 07818 428297.
Notes to Editors:
1. For almost 100 years the Medical Research Council has improved the health of people in the UK and around the world by supporting the highest quality science. The MRC invests in world-class scientists. It has produced 29 Nobel Prize winners and sustains a flourishing environment for internationally recognised research. The MRC focuses on making an impact and provides the financial muscle and scientific expertise behind medical breakthroughs, including one of the first antibiotics penicillin, the structure of DNA and the lethal link between smoking and cancer. Today MRC funded scientists tackle research into the major health challenges of the 21st century. www.mrc.ac.uk
2. Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. UCL is the fourth-ranked university in the 2009 THES-QS World University Rankings. UCL alumni include Marie Stopes, Jonathan Dimbleby, Lord Woolf, Alexander Graham Bell, and members of the band Coldplay. UCL currently has over 12,000 undergraduate and 8,000 postgraduate students. Its annual income is over £600 million. www.ucl.ac.uk
