To reduce pain to heel prick in newborn: comparison with six lancet devices

Abstract

Heel prick is an usual method performed to get a blood sample for newborn screening. Its wide use justifies the effort in reducing the pain as much as possible and some simple steps, including the use of spring heelsticks, are recommended by national and international guide-lines. But not all the heelsticks cause the same pain and allow to get enough blood for the screening. The aim of this work was to test six automatic heelstick devices with regard to the pain in heel prick measured with NIPS scale and, at the same time, to value their effectiveness in getting a blood sample suitable for filter paper for newborn screening. The following devices were assessed: Amnes Minilet Lancets, Wuxi Xinda Ltd, Exxe Safe Blade, Lifescan Stik Johnson & Johnson, One Touch Ultra Soft, Accu-Chek Safe T Pro Plus. The device Exxe Safe Blade statistically differs from all others: it is the least painful and it doesn't need any prick repetition.

Cribado Neonatal De Enfermedades Endocrino –Metabólicas: Actualización E Importancia en El Ámbito Sanitario

“…En la última década, autores como Galbe 2009 Es importante resaltar ciertos estudios, que abordan resultados importantes sobre la realización de la técnica de punción del talón, como es el caso de un estudio realizado en el año 2012 en el que se comparan seis tipos de lancetas, obteniendo que aquellas que causan menos dolor y no necesitan de una segunda punción son las de la marca Exxe Safe Blade (Ballardini et al 2012).…”

Foot Skin Ischemic Necrosis following Heel Prick in a Newborn

“…Although heel prick has been performed all over the world for many years, there are only a few reports on side effects after heel prick in neonates. Severe local reactions including pain, swelling, tenderness, and erythematous plaques are well-known adverse effects of heel prick in newborn [ 1 ]. Skin bruising and necrosis during delivery, which are mostly attributed to birth trauma, may be the sign of underlying inherited thrombophilia [ 2 ].…”