Psychological interventions for needle-related procedural pain and distress in children and adolescents

Non-pharmacological management of infant and young child procedural pain

BACKGROUND

Despite evidence of the long-term implications of unrelieved pain during infancy, it is evident that infant pain is still under-managed and unmanaged. Inadequately managed pain in infancy, a period of exponential development, can have implications across the lifespan. Therefore, a comprehensive and systematic review of pain management strategies is integral to appropriate infant pain management. This is an update of a previously published review update in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2015, Issue 12) of the same title.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the efficacy and adverse events of non-pharmacological interventions for infant and child (aged up to three years) acute pain, excluding kangaroo care, sucrose, breastfeeding/breast milk, and music.

SEARCH METHODS

For this update, we searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE-Ovid platform, EMBASE-OVID platform, PsycINFO-OVID platform, CINAHL-EBSCO platform and trial registration websites (ClinicalTrials.gov; International Clinical Trials Registry Platform) (March 2015 to October 2020). An update search was completed in July 2022, but studies identified at this point were added to 'Awaiting classification' for a future update.  We also searched reference lists and contacted researchers via electronic list-serves.  We incorporated 76 new studies into the review.  SELECTION CRITERIA: Participants included infants from birth to three years in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or cross-over RCTs that had a no-treatment control comparison. Studies were eligible for inclusion in the analysis if they compared a non-pharmacological pain management strategy to a no-treatment control group (15 different strategies). In addition, we also analysed studies when the unique effect of adding a non-pharmacological pain management strategy onto another pain management strategy could be assessed (i.e. additive effects on a sweet solution, non-nutritive sucking, or swaddling) (three strategies). The eligible control groups for these additive studies were sweet solution only, non-nutritive sucking only, or swaddling only, respectively. Finally, we qualitatively described six interventions that met the eligibility criteria for inclusion in the review, but not in the analysis.  DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: The outcomes assessed in the review were pain response (reactivity and regulation) and adverse events. The level of certainty in the evidence and risk of bias were based on the Cochrane risk of bias tool and the GRADE approach. We analysed the standardised mean difference (SMD) using the generic inverse variance method to determine effect sizes.  MAIN RESULTS: We included total of 138 studies (11,058 participants), which includes an additional 76 new studies for this update. Of these 138 studies, we analysed 115 (9048 participants) and described 23 (2010 participants) qualitatively. We described qualitatively studies that could not be meta-analysed due to being the only studies in their category or statistical reporting issues. We report the results of the 138 included studies here. An SMD effect size of 0.2 represents a small effect, 0.5 a moderate effect, and 0.8 a large effect. The thresholds for the I2 interpretation were established as follows: not important (0% to 40%); moderate heterogeneity (30% to 60%); substantial heterogeneity (50% to 90%); considerable heterogeneity (75% to 100%). The most commonly studied acute procedures were heel sticks (63 studies) and needlestick procedures for the purposes of vaccines/vitamins (35 studies). We judged most studies to have high risk of bias (103 out of 138), with the most common methodological concerns relating to blinding of personnel and outcome assessors. Pain responses were examined during two separate pain phases: pain reactivity (within the first 30 seconds after the acutely painful stimulus) and immediate pain regulation (after the first 30 seconds following the acutely painful stimulus). We report below the strategies with the strongest evidence base for each age group. In preterm born neonates, non-nutritive sucking may reduce pain reactivity (SMD -0.57, 95% confidence interval (CI) -1.03 to -0.11, moderate effect; I2 = 93%, considerable heterogeneity) and improve immediate pain regulation (SMD -0.61, 95% CI -0.95 to -0.27, moderate effect; I2 = 81%, considerable heterogeneity), based on very low-certainty evidence. Facilitated tucking may also reduce pain reactivity (SMD -1.01, 95% CI -1.44 to -0.58, large effect; I2 = 93%, considerable heterogeneity) and improve immediate pain regulation (SMD -0.59, 95% CI -0.92 to -0.26, moderate effect; I2 = 87%, considerable heterogeneity); however, this is also based on very low-certainty evidence. While swaddling likely does not reduce pain reactivity in preterm neonates (SMD -0.60, 95% CI -1.23 to 0.04, no effect; I2 = 91%, considerable heterogeneity), it has been shown to possibly improve immediate pain regulation (SMD -1.21, 95% CI -2.05 to -0.38, large effect; I2 = 89%, considerable heterogeneity), based on very low-certainty evidence. In full-term born neonates, non-nutritive sucking may reduce pain reactivity (SMD -1.13, 95% CI -1.57 to -0.68, large effect; I2 = 82%, considerable heterogeneity) and improve immediate pain regulation (SMD -1.49, 95% CI -2.20 to -0.78, large effect; I2 = 92%, considerable heterogeneity), based on very low-certainty evidence.  In full-term born older infants, structured parent involvement was the intervention most studied. Results showed that this intervention has little to no effect in reducing pain reactivity (SMD -0.18, 95% CI -0.40 to 0.03, no effect; I2 = 46%, moderate heterogeneity) or improving immediate pain regulation (SMD -0.09, 95% CI -0.40 to 0.21, no effect; I2 = 74%, substantial heterogeneity), based on low- to moderate-certainty evidence. Of these five interventions most studied, only two studies observed adverse events, specifically vomiting (one preterm neonate) and desaturation (one full-term neonate hospitalised in the NICU) following the non-nutritive sucking intervention. The presence of considerable heterogeneity limited our confidence in the findings for certain analyses, as did the preponderance of evidence of very low to low certainty based on GRADE judgements.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Overall, non-nutritive sucking, facilitated tucking, and swaddling may reduce pain behaviours in preterm born neonates. Non-nutritive sucking may also reduce pain behaviours in full-term neonates. No interventions based on a substantial body of evidence showed promise in reducing pain behaviours in older infants. Most analyses were based on very low- or low-certainty grades of evidence and none were based on high-certainty evidence. Therefore, the lack of confidence in the evidence would require further research before we could draw a definitive conclusion.

Developing the Therapeutic Video Game with MDA Framework to Decrease Anxiety for Pre-school Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Mix-method Approaches (Preprint)

Background

Preschool-aged children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) receive long-term treatment according to the Taiwan Pediatric Oncology Group (TPOG)–ALL 2013 protocol. Severe anxiety and noncompliance ahead of frequent invasive therapies leads to an increase in health care costs. Previous studies have shown that therapeutic video games (TVGs) can decrease the anxiety experienced by children who are ill. To our knowledge, no existing TVG has been designed specifically for preschool-aged children with ALL in Taiwan.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to develop a TVG using the popular Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics (MDA) framework for game design and to investigate the effect of this TVG on the reduction of therapy-related anxiety among preschool-aged children with ALL.

Methods

This study used a mixed methods approach over three phases: (1) develop a TVG using the MDA framework, (2) test the reliability of the TVG among three certified children’s art therapists, and (3) evaluate the reduction of therapy-related anxiety among participants after using the TVG for 6 weeks, using a two-group, stratified randomized controlled trial at a medical center in northern Taiwan. Eligible preschool-aged children with ALL were randomly assigned 1:1 into an experimental group or a control group. The two groups of subjects received the same usual care, and only the experimental group had access to and used the TVG. The children’s anxiety responses were reported by their family caregivers using the face rating scale (FRS). Descriptive analyses, the Fisher exact test, the Pearson chi-square test, and the Mann-Whitney U test were used to statistically analyze the variables.

Results

Six mechanics rules supported the dynamics of the TVG using four main features—character, nursery, tasks, and market—in order to complete all of the therapy-related anxiety reduction scenarios and to achieve eight aesthetics goals. The results of reliability test showed that participants found the TVG to be useful and trustworthy for preschool-aged children with ALL (Cronbach α=.98). A total of 15 participants were enrolled and randomly allocated to the experimental group (n=7) or the control group (n=8). The average number of TVG log-ins was 37.9 (SD 15.30, range 14-62) in the experimental group. The demographic data showed homogeneity across the two groups regarding age (3 to 5 years), sex (male), risk classification (standard risk), and treatment status (continuation therapy). The mean FRS score was 6.16 (SD 3.31) for the experimental group as compared to 7.45 (SD 2.71) for the control group (P=.04), which represented a significant difference between the groups at the 6-week follow-up.

Conclusions

This research provides evidence that using a TVG can decrease anxiety in preschool-aged children with ALL in Taiwan. The TVG could be used to support clinical professionals before they perform invasive therapies. However, it is recommended to increase the statistical power for inference.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04199637; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04199637

Psychological interventions for needle-related procedural pain and distress in children and adolescents

BACKGROUND

This is the second update of a Cochrane Review (Issue 4, 2006). Pain and distress from needle-related procedures are common during childhood and can be reduced through use of psychological interventions (cognitive or behavioral strategies, or both). Our first review update (Issue 10, 2013) showed efficacy of distraction and hypnosis for needle-related pain and distress in children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the efficacy of psychological interventions for needle-related procedural pain and distress in children and adolescents.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched six electronic databases for relevant trials: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL); MEDLINE; PsycINFO; Embase; Web of Science (ISI Web of Knowledge); and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL). We sent requests for additional studies to pediatric pain and child health electronic listservs. We also searched registries for relevant completed trials: clinicaltrials.gov; and World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (www.who.int.trialsearch). We conducted searches up to September 2017 to identify records published since the last review update in 2013.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included peer-reviewed published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with at least five participants per study arm, comparing a psychological intervention with a control or comparison group. Trials involved children aged two to 19 years undergoing any needle-related medical procedure.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors extracted data and assessed risks of bias using the Cochrane 'Risk of bias' tool. We examined pain and distress assessed by child self-report, observer global report, and behavioral measurement (primary outcomes). We also examined any reported physiological outcomes and adverse events (secondary outcomes). We used meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of identified psychological interventions relative to a comparator (i.e. no treatment, other active treatment, treatment as usual, or waitlist) for each outcome separately. We used Review Manager 5 software to compute standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and GRADE to assess the quality of the evidence.

MAIN RESULTS

We included 59 trials (20 new for this update) with 5550 participants. Needle procedures primarily included venipuncture, intravenous insertion, and vaccine injections. Studies included children aged two to 19 years, with few trials focused on adolescents. The most common psychological interventions were distraction (n = 32), combined cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT; n = 18), and hypnosis (n = 8). Preparation/information (n = 4), breathing (n = 4), suggestion (n = 3), and memory alteration (n = 1) were also included. Control groups were often 'standard care', which varied across studies. Across all studies, 'Risk of bias' scores indicated several domains at high or unclear risk, most notably allocation concealment, blinding of participants and outcome assessment, and selective reporting. We downgraded the quality of evidence largely due to serious study limitations, inconsistency, and imprecision.Very low- to low-quality evidence supported the efficacy of distraction for self-reported pain (n = 30, 2802 participants; SMD -0.56, 95% CI -0.78 to -0.33) and distress (n = 4, 426 participants; SMD -0.82, 95% CI -1.45 to -0.18), observer-reported pain (n = 11, 1512 participants; SMD -0.62, 95% CI -1.00 to -0.23) and distress (n = 5, 1067 participants; SMD -0.72, 95% CI -1.41 to -0.03), and behavioral distress (n = 7, 500 participants; SMD -0.44, 95% CI -0.84 to -0.04). Distraction was not efficacious for behavioral pain (n = 4, 309 participants; SMD -0.33, 95% CI -0.69 to 0.03). Very low-quality evidence indicated hypnosis was efficacious for reducing self-reported pain (n = 5, 176 participants; SMD -1.40, 95% CI -2.32 to -0.48) and distress (n = 5, 176 participants; SMD -2.53, 95% CI -3.93 to -1.12), and behavioral distress (n = 6, 193 participants; SMD -1.15, 95% CI -1.76 to -0.53), but not behavioral pain (n = 2, 69 participants; SMD -0.38, 95% CI -1.57 to 0.81). No studies assessed hypnosis for observer-reported pain and only one study assessed observer-reported distress. Very low- to low-quality evidence supported the efficacy of combined CBT for observer-reported pain (n = 4, 385 participants; SMD -0.52, 95% CI -0.73 to -0.30) and behavioral distress (n = 11, 1105 participants; SMD -0.40, 95% CI -0.67 to -0.14), but not self-reported pain (n = 14, 1359 participants; SMD -0.27, 95% CI -0.58 to 0.03), self-reported distress (n = 6, 234 participants; SMD -0.26, 95% CI -0.56 to 0.04), observer-reported distress (n = 6, 765 participants; SMD 0.08, 95% CI -0.34 to 0.50), or behavioral pain (n = 2, 95 participants; SMD -0.65, 95% CI -2.36 to 1.06). Very low-quality evidence showed efficacy of breathing interventions for self-reported pain (n = 4, 298 participants; SMD -1.04, 95% CI -1.86 to -0.22), but there were too few studies for meta-analysis of other outcomes. Very low-quality evidence revealed no effect for preparation/information (n = 4, 313 participants) or suggestion (n = 3, 218 participants) for any pain or distress outcome. Given only a single trial, we could draw no conclusions about memory alteration. Adverse events of respiratory difficulties were only reported in one breathing intervention.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

We identified evidence supporting the efficacy of distraction, hypnosis, combined CBT, and breathing interventions for reducing children's needle-related pain or distress, or both. Support for the efficacy of combined CBT and breathing interventions is new from our last review update due to the availability of new evidence. The quality of trials and overall evidence remains low to very low, underscoring the need for improved methodological rigor and trial reporting. Despite low-quality evidence, the potential benefits of reduced pain or distress or both support the evidence in favor of using these interventions in clinical practice.

Needle size for vaccination procedures in children and adolescents

BACKGROUND

This is an update of a Cochrane Review first published in 2015. The conclusions have not changed.Hypodermic needles of different sizes (gauges and lengths) can be used for vaccination procedures. The gauge (G) refers to the outside diameter of the needle tubing. The higher the gauge number, the smaller the diameter of the needle (e.g. a 23 G needle is 0.6 mm in diameter, whereas a 25 G needle is 0.5 mm in diameter). Many vaccines are recommended for injection into muscle (intramuscularly), although some are delivered subcutaneously (under the skin) and intradermally (into skin). Choosing an appropriate length and gauge of a needle may be important to ensure that a vaccine is delivered to the appropriate site and produces the maximum immune response while causing the least possible harm. Guidelines conflict regarding the sizes of needles that should be used for vaccinating children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effects of using needles of different sizes for administering vaccines to children and adolescents on vaccine immunogenicity (the ability of the vaccine to elicit an immune response), procedural pain, and other reactogenicity events (adverse events following vaccine administration).

SEARCH METHODS

We updated our searches of CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, and CINAHL to October 2017. We also searched proceedings of vaccine conferences and two trials registers.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised controlled trials evaluating the effects of using hypodermic needles of any gauge or length to administer any type of vaccine to people aged from birth to 24 years.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Three review authors independently extracted trial data and assessed the risk of bias. We contacted trial authors for additional information. We rated the quality of evidence using the GRADE system.

MAIN RESULTS

We included five trials involving 1350 participants in the original review. The updated review identified no new trials. The evidence from two small trials (one trial including infants and one including adolescents) was insufficient to allow any definitive statements to be made about the effects of the needles evaluated in the trials on vaccine immunogenicity and reactogenicity.The remaining three trials (1135 participants) contributed data to comparisons between 25 G 25 mm, 23 G 25 mm, and 25 G 16 mm needles. These trials included infants predominantly aged from two to six months undergoing intramuscular vaccination in the anterolateral thigh using the World Health Organization (WHO) injection technique (skin stretched flat, needle inserted at a 90° angle and up to the needle hub in healthy infants). The vaccines administered were combination vaccines containing diphtheria, tetanus, and whole-cell pertussis antigens (DTwP). In some trials, the vaccines also contained Haemophilus influenzae type b (DTwP-Hib) and hepatitis B (DTwP-Hib-Hep B) antigen components.Primary outcomesIncidence of vaccine-preventable diseases: No trials reported this outcome.Procedural pain and crying: Using a wider gauge 23 G 25 mm needle may slightly reduce procedural pain (low-quality evidence) and probably leads to a slight reduction in the duration of crying time immediately after vaccination (moderate-quality evidence) compared with a narrower gauge 25 G 25 mm needle (one trial, 320 participants). The effects are probably not large enough to be clinically relevant.Secondary outcomesImmune response: There is probably little or no difference in immune response, defined in terms of the proportion of seroprotected infants, between use of 25 G 25 mm, 23 G 25 mm, or 25 G 16 mm needles to administer a series of three doses of a DTwP-Hib vaccine at ages two, three, and four months (moderate-quality evidence, one trial, numbers of participants in analyses range from 309 to 402. The immune response to the pertussis antigen was not measured).Severe and non-severe local reactions: 25 mm needles (either 25 G or 23 G) probably lead to fewer severe and non-severe local reactions after DTwP-Hib vaccination compared with 25 G 16 mm needles (moderate-quality evidence, one trial, 447 to 458 participants in analyses). We estimate that one fewer infant will experience a severe local reaction (extensive redness and swelling) after the first vaccine dose for every 25 infants vaccinated with the longer rather than the shorter needle (number needed to treat for an additional beneficial outcome (NNTB) with a 25 G 25 mm needle: 25 (95% confidence interval (CI) 15 to 100); NNTB with a 23 G 25 mm needle: 25 (95% CI 17 to 100)). We estimate that one fewer infant will experience a non-severe local reaction (any redness, swelling, tenderness, or hardness (composite outcome)) at 24 hours after the first vaccine dose for every 5 or 6 infants vaccinated with a 25 mm rather than a 16 mm needle (NNTB with a 25 G 25 mm needle: 5 (95% CI 4 to 10); NNTB with a 23 G 25 mm needle: 6 (95% CI 4 to 13)). The results are similar after the second and third vaccine doses.Using a narrow gauge 25 G 25 mm needle may produce a small reduction in the incidence of local reactions after each dose of a DTwP vaccine compared with a wider gauge 23 G 25 mm needle, but the effect estimates are imprecise (low-quality evidence, two trials, 100 to 459 participants in analyses).Systemic reactions: The comparative effects of 23 G 25 mm, 25 G 25 mm, and 25 G 16 mm needles on the incidence of postvaccination fever and other systemic events such as drowsiness, loss of appetite, and vomiting are uncertain due to the very low quality of the evidence.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Using 25 mm needles (either 23 G or 25 G) for intramuscular vaccination procedures in the anterolateral thigh of infants using the WHO injection technique probably reduces the occurrence of local reactions while achieving a comparable immune response to 25 G 16 mm needles. These findings are applicable to healthy infants aged two to six months receiving combination DTwP vaccines with a reactogenic whole-cell pertussis antigen component. These vaccines are predominantly used in low- and middle-income countries. The applicability of the findings to vaccines with acellular pertussis components and other vaccines with different reactogenicity profiles is uncertain.

The Effects of Child Life Specialists on Success Rates of Intravenous Cannulation

BACKGROUND

Child life specialists (CLS) work with children directly to minimize long-term psychological sequelae of traumatic or medical events such as intravenous cannulation. There has been little done to measure how CLS impact outcomes of medical procedures. The objective of this study is to determine the impact of interventions by CLS upon successful attainment of intravenous (IV) cannulation among pediatric patients in the emergency department setting.

METHOD

This was an eight month retrospective review within an urban tertiary-care freestanding pediatric Emergency Department (ED), using nursing and CLS documentation of ED patients younger than 21years who underwent IV cannulation. CLS self selected which children received procedural support, and the duration of CLS staffing was not a full 24h. Children with CLS documentation were compared against those without documented interventions by CLS. IV cannulation success and number of IV cannulation attempts were the primary outcomes. Confounding variables such as location of intravenous site, intravenous gauge, and professional qualifications were added. Chi-square determined the impact of CLS on primary outcomes. Logistic regression examined the association between successful IV cannulation with age.

RESULTS

In all, 5460 children had documented IV cannulation, and 240 of those received CLS intervention. CLS intervention was not associated with IV cannulation success (p=0.5). The only significant association for successful IV cannulation was intravenous site (p<0.001). There was no interaction effect between patient age and CLS (p=0.12).

CONCLUSION

Interventions by CLS do not affect the procedural outcome of intravenous cannulation success. Benefits of CLS are likely better measured in psychological impact of anxiolysis and improved experience, rather than in procedural outcome.

Needle size for vaccination procedures in children and adolescents

BACKGROUND

Hypodermic needles of different sizes (gauges and lengths) can be used for vaccination procedures. The gauge (G) refers to the outside diameter of the needle tubing. The higher the gauge number, the smaller diameter of the needle (eg a 25 G needle is 0.5 mm in diameter and is narrower than a 23 G needle (0.6 mm)). Many vaccines are recommended for injection into muscle (intramuscularly), although some are delivered subcutaneously (under the skin) and intradermally (into skin). Choosing an appropriate length and gauge of a needle may be important to ensure that a vaccine is delivered to the appropriate site and produces the maximum immune response while causing the least possible harm. There are some conflicting guidelines regarding the lengths and gauges of needles that should be used for vaccination procedures in children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effects of using needles of different lengths and gauges for administering vaccines to children and adolescents on vaccine immunogenicity (the ability of the vaccine to elicit an immune response), procedural pain, and other reactogenicity events (adverse events following vaccine administration).

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library 2014, Issue 10), MEDLINE and MEDLINE in Progress via Ovid (1947 to November 2014), EMBASE via Ovid (1974 to November 2014), and CINAHL via EBSCOhost (1982 to November 2014). We also searched reference lists of articles and textbooks, the proceedings of vaccine conferences, and three clinical trial registers.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised controlled trials evaluating the effects of using hypodermic needles of any gauge or length to administer any type of vaccine to people aged from birth to 24 years.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Three review authors independently extracted trial data and assessed the risk of bias. We contacted trial authors for additional information. We rated the quality of evidence using the GRADE system.

MAIN RESULTS

We included five trials involving 1350 participants. Data for the primary review outcomes were either absent (for the incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases) or limited (for procedural pain and crying). The available evidence was compromised by the use of surrogate immunogenicity outcomes, incomplete blinding of outcome assessors, and imprecision for some outcomes. The evidence from two small trials was insufficient to allow any confident statements to be made about the effects of the needles evaluated in the trials on vaccine immunogenicity and reactogenicity.The remaining three trials (1135 participants) contributed data to comparisons between 25 G 25 mm, 23 G 25 mm, and 25 G 16 mm needles. These trials involved infants predominantly aged two to six months undergoing intramuscular vaccination in the anterolateral thigh using the World Health Organization (WHO) injection technique (skin stretched flat, needle inserted at a 90° angle and up to the needle hub in healthy infants). The vaccines administered were combination vaccines containing diphtheria, tetanus, and whole-cell pertussis antigens (DTwP). In some trials, the vaccines also contained Haemophilus influenzae type b (DTwP-Hib) and hepatitis B (DTwP-Hib-HepB) antigen components.We found moderate quality evidence from one trial that there is probably little or no difference in immune response, defined in terms of the proportion of seroprotected infants, between using 25 G 25 mm, 23 G 25 mm, or 25 G 16 mm needles to administer a series of three doses of a DTwP-Hib vaccine at ages two, three, and four months (numbers of participants in analyses range from 309 to 402. Immune response to pertussis antigen not measured).25 mm needles (either 23 G or 25 G) probably lead to fewer severe local reactions (extensive redness and swelling) and fewer non-severe local reactions (any redness, swelling, tenderness or hardness (composite outcome)) after DTwP-Hib vaccination compared with 25 G 16 mm needles. We estimate that one fewer infant will experience a severe local reaction after the first vaccine dose for every 25 infants vaccinated with the longer rather than the shorter needle (number needed to treat (NNT) 25 (95% confidence interval (CI) 15 to 100)). We estimate that one fewer infant will experience a non-severe local reaction at 24 hours after the first, second, and third vaccine doses for every five to eight infants vaccinated with the longer rather than the shorter needle (NNTs range from 5 (95% CI 4 to 10) to 8 (95% CI 5 to 34)) (moderate quality evidence, one trial for first and second doses, two trials for third dose, numbers of participants in analyses range from 413 to 528).Using a wider gauge needle (23 G 25 mm) may slightly reduce procedural pain (low quality evidence) and probably leads to a slight reduction in the duration of crying time immediately after vaccination (moderate quality evidence) compared with a narrower gauge (25 G 25 mm) needle (one trial, 320 participants). The effects are probably not large enough to be of any clinical relevance. The 25 G 25 mm needle may produce a small reduction in the incidence of local reactions after each dose of a DTwP vaccine compared with the 23 G 25 mm needle, but the effect estimates are imprecise (low quality evidence, two trials, numbers of participants in analyses range from 100 to 459).The comparative effects of 23 G 25 mm, 25 G 25 mm, and 25 G 16 mm needles on the incidence of post-vaccination fever, persistent inconsolable crying, and other systemic events such as drowsiness, loss of appetite, and vomiting are uncertain due to the very low quality of the evidence.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Using 25 mm needles (either 23 G or 25 G) for intramuscular vaccination procedures in the anterolateral thigh of infants using the WHO injection technique probably reduces the occurrence of local reactions while achieving a comparable immune response to 25 G 16 mm needles. These findings are applicable to healthy infants aged two to six months receiving combination DTwP vaccines with a reactogenic whole-cell pertussis antigen component. These vaccines are predominantly used in developing countries. The applicability of the findings to vaccines with acellular pertussis components and other vaccines with different reactogenicity profiles is uncertain.

Hypnosis for procedure-related pain and distress in pediatric cancer patients: a systematic review of effectiveness and methodology related to hypnosis interventions

The aim of this study was to systematically review and critically appraise the evidence on the effectiveness of hypnosis for procedure-related pain and distress in pediatric cancer patients. A comprehensive search of major biomedical and specialist complementary and alternative medicine databases was conducted. Citations were included from the databases' inception to March 2005. Efforts were made to identify unpublished and ongoing research. Controlled trials were appraised using predefined criteria. Clinical commentaries were obtained for each study. Seven randomized controlled clinical trials and one controlled clinical trial were found. Studies report positive results, including statistically significant reductions in pain and anxiety/distress, but a number of methodological limitations were identified. Systematic searching and appraisal has demonstrated that hypnosis has potential as a clinically valuable intervention for procedure-related pain and distress in pediatric cancer patients. Further research into the effectiveness and acceptability of hypnosis for pediatric cancer patients is recommended.