Effect of Yakson Touch on Physiological Indicators of Preterm Infants during Painful Procedures; A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trail

Preterm infants are sensitive and experience pain through invasive procedures in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit more than term infants. One of the painful and frequent procedures is cannulation. Aim: this study was to determine the effect of Yakson touch and pacifier on pain and physiological response in preterm infants during cannulation. Methods: a clinical trial of 60 preterm infants was conducted in a NICU affiliated with El-Arbain Hospital, Assiut governorate, Upper Egypt. Sixty preterm infants matched the inclusion criteria were included in this study divided chronologically into two groups (Yakson and control groups). Thirty infants were in each group. Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) was used to evaluate pain responses. Pain and physiological indicators (pulse, respiration, and oxygen saturation) were measured before and after cannulation. Comparison was done among the control and study groups to define the effect. Results: The mean gestational age of the included infants was 33.17 and 33.93 weeks in both the Yakson and control groups respectively, and the weight mean was 1.49 kg with no statistical differences among both groups. While days of life have differed which infants in the control group had high days of life mean. Respiration and pulse rates decreased after the procedure in the Yakson group, while they increased in control. Also, the pain means scores increased after the painful procedure in the control group while decreased in Yakson (control after = 6.03, Yakson after = 3.90). Conclusion: Yakson's touch message successfully decreased pain levels, pulse, and respiration rates among preterm infants exposed to painful procedures. Moreover, performing Yakson improves oxygen saturation levels among preterm infants in the study group. Recommendations : try to incorporate Yakson touch into routine care to maintain preterm infants' stability.