Tracheal suction and pain: reactions of newborn preterm infants during procedure - doi: 10.4025/cienccuidsaude.v9i2.8669

Abstract

The pain that critically ill newborns feel may alter their respiratory stability, cardiovascular and metabolic rates, increasing the rates of neonatal morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to evaluate the presence of pain in newborn preterm infants undergoing endotracheal tube aspiration, based on the premature infant pain profile (PIPP). This is a field research, exploratory, observational and non-participatory. The results of this study indicated that newborns experience pain during the procedure of aspiration of the tracheal tube, showing through behavioral and physiological reactions, such as, frowning, eye squeeze and nasolabial crease, changes in heart rate and oxygen saturation. In only 20% of procedures, the nurses used non-pharmacological measures to relieve pain. Health professionals during this procedure should be able to decode the pain, understanding their physiology and the evaluation methods, in order to promote actions to minimize occurrences and minimize its long term effects on the newborn.