Projects & Grants
| Multisensory interventions for pain relief during newborn screening | |
|---|---|
| Project Id | SGS07/LF/2024 |
| Main solver | Mgr. Kateřina Greplová |
| Period | 1/2024 - 12/2024 |
| Provider | Specifický VŠ výzkum |
| State | solved |
| Anotation | According to the methodological instruction of the Ministry of Health in the Bulletin of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic No.6/2016, every child aged 48 - 72 hours undergoes capillary blood sampling (newborn screening). Newborn screening is used to look for diseases at an early stage. It is carried out by taking capillary blood from the heel of the newborn on two self-administered screening cards. Newborns experience short-term, procedural pain during newborn screening, which should be numbed. Pain, especially in young children, is still often downplayed and myths persist about the experience of pain in young children. We now know that prolonged exposure to pain can have a negative impact on neurodevelopment as the child's brain is still developing after birth. Research clearly shows that the pain conduction pathways, as well as the brain centres for pain perception, are already well developed in premature infants. Even a six-month-old fetus is able to perceive discomfort because it is equipped with anatomical structures. Pain assessment in young children is very difficult. The facial expression is undifferentiated, so it is often difficult to distinguish between pain, irritability and anxiety. The most common physiologic markers of pain include changes in vital signs, which are not commonly measured in physiologic neonates during procedural pain. The most common indicators are crying, facial activity, body movements, and resting movements. In newborns, data contained in the medical history, e.g. fractures, Vex, Forceps, etc., can also alert us to the possible presence of pain. The experience of pain, even only procedural pain, has a negative impact on the health of the child, therefore it is important to control pain in newborns mainly by non-pharmacological methods. |
