Sucrose for newborn pain relief

[NN2BVE]

I have to do presentation to my clinical group about sucrose usage for pain relief for newborn babies. I have found a lot of information about how it works and its beneficial effects, but have difficulty finding articles about why administration of sucrose to newborns falls under RN responsibilities (not say phlebotomists), sucrose adverse reactions and contraindications for babies that are not preterm (such as newborns of mothers with diabetes). I would really appreciate if someone could explain this or post a link to articles that are discussing this topic. Thank you very much for your help.

[BabyLady, BSN, RN]

A phlebotomist cannot give a patient anything by mouth as they are not licensed to give patient care. They are trained only to retrieve blood samples.

This type of pain relief would either be managed by protocol or a doctor's order, which is a nursing responsibility.

I did a google search for "sucrose for pain relief" and there was a ton of articles that popped up.

[tylersmom]

This is actually my wife's account. I am a NICU nurse at a children's hospital just giving you some information on Sucrose and it's benefits:

First, it is only administered by Nurses because it is considered a medication-like substance and only RN's (or LVN's) can administer medication or medication-like substances according to the powers that be.

Second, it is a very good pain reliever for the neonatal population. However, there are varying theories/beliefs as to why and how this works. One thing to keep in mind is that for certain populations of neonates, this therapy can't be used; ie. Extremely Low Birthwieght, any congenital anomalies involving the GI tract, neonates with glucose/metabolic abnormalities and the like.

When no other pharmacological treatment is available, sucrose is a good substitute. I have found in my own practice that it causes the neonate to initiate it's suck response, which in turn is soothing to them. I don't know if there are actually pharmakenetics that are involved in sucrose, but I have found that even in a screaming baby, they realize that something tastes good and it allows them to suck on their pacifier.

You should check out some reputable sites like those of Cincinnati Children's Hospital, or the American Association of Pediatrics to find some of your answers that you are looking for.