Effect of Facilitated Tucking with the Nurse and a Simulated Hand on Physiological Pain Index During Vein Puncture on Premature Infants

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Painful and stressful stimuli increase catecholamine, heart rate, blood pressure and increase the intracranial pressure of the baby. Facilitated tucking is a simple technique that makes the baby control her body better. Therefore, this study was performed to compare the effects of fetal status with hands of nurses and simulated hand on the physiological indices of pain during venipuncture in preterm infants. METHODS: The present experimental study was performed on 99 preterm infants admitted to the intensive care unit of Amin and Shahid Beheshti hospitals of Isfahan and in three groups of 33 patients (two groups of test and one control group). In one of the test groups during venipuncture procedure neonates were placed in facilitated tucking by nurse’s hand and in the other group by simulated hands. Before, during and after the intravenous route, the respiratory rate, pulse rate and arterial oxygen saturation were recorded using monitors. FINDINGS: The mean of arterial oxygen saturation during and after venipuncture in the nurses' hand group were (93.04±6.13) and (94.3±56.44) and in simulated hand group were (95.2±21.11) and (94.2±50.86%) which had no significant difference (p<0.05). Between the mean respiratory rate, during and after the venipuncture in the nurses' hand (49.9±85.88) and (54.11±03.85) with simulated hand group (50.64±11.48) and (57.10±96.82) was not significantly