Introduction: Venipuncture is a standard invasive procedure in children that causes pain, leading to procedural anxiety. It emphasises the clinical importance of adequate analgesia and the need to identify effective non-pharmacological procedures. Goal: This study primarily aims to comparatively evaluate the analgesic efficacy of four nonpharmacological interventions: Buzzy ® vibrating device, local cooling, felinotherapy, and oral stimulation with a lollipop – compared to standard care (control group) in children aged 4–11 years undergoing venipuncture. The secondary goal was to compare the assessment of pain intensity by the child and the parent. Methods: A prospective five-arm randomised controlled trial included 125 children (25 in each arm). The child and the parent assessed pain intensity immediately after the procedure using the Wong–Baker face scale (WBF 0–5). One-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post-hoc Tukey’s test (α = 0.05) was used to compare the mean values of the Wong–Baker face scale between groups. Results: The Buzzy® device showed the lowest average pain value according to the children (WBF 1.96 ± 0.90) and was significantly more effective than the lollipop and the control group (p < 0.05). Local cooling (WBF 2.50 ± 1.16) was the second most effective method. The effect of felinotherapy (WBF 2.71 ± 1.16) was not statistically different from the control group (WBF 2.96 ± 1.31). Oral stimulation with a lollipop (WBF 3.79 ± 1.08) was the least effective. According to their perception, parents systematically underestimated children’s pain (average difference in WBF –0.96 points). Neither the age nor the gender of the children influenced the effectiveness of the interventions. Conclusion: Buzzy ® vibrating device is the most effective researched non-pharmacological intervention for reducing pain during venipuncture in children aged 4–11 years. Local cooling is also an effective and affordable alternative.

Department of Pediatrics Masaryk Hospital Krajská zdravotní a s affiliated with the Faculty of Health Studies Jan Evangelista Purkyně University Ústí nad Labem Czech Republic

University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice Faculty of Health and Social Sciences České Budějovice Czech Republic

Citace poskytuje Crossref.org

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