analgesic effects of glucose and water in neonates

several methods have been used to relieve pain in neonates. the objective of this study was to assess the analgesic effect of 50% glucose and water during hepatitis b vaccination. in this randomized controlled trial, 90 term neonates were studied. infants were randomly assigned to one of the three equal sized groups. first, heart rates were measured by ekg monitor. then, 2ml of either 50% glucose or sterile water was administered into the mouths of infants in groups one and two, respectively. no intervention was done for group three. during vaccination until three minutes after, crying of babies was taped. heart rates were measured during injection until 60 seconds. mean values of duration of crying for glucose, water, and no intervention groups were 21.1 s, 33.3 s, and 56.9 s, respectively, which were significantly different ( p = 0.0003). post hoc test revealed substantial differences between groups one and three ( p = 0.0001) and between groups two and three ( p = 0.006). however, groups one and two were not statistically different ( p = 0.19). moreover, heart rate did not rise significantly in any of those groups. both 50% glucose and water showed analgesic effects in neonates.