Preterm Infants in Pain

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Abstract
Within the past few years, the assumption that preterm infants experience little or no pain has been challenged in nursing and medical literature. It is not clear to what extent changes have taken place in the practice area. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the beliefs of NICU nurses and physicians about the existence and treatment of pain in preterm infants. Respondents to the open-ended interviews were 5 neonatologists and i0 nurses at two regional referral neonatal intensive care units in North Carolina. Interviews took from 20 to 40 minutes and were analyzed using the Ethnograph program AU respondents agreed that preterm. infants experience pain. Both groups identified behavioral and physiological cues to pain recognition. There were differences in initial approaches to treatment. However, both groups indicated that the nurse has the pivotal role in recognition and initiation of treatment to reduce or eliminate pain.

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