Effect of kangaroo mother care vs expressed breast milk administration on pain associated with removal of adhesive tape in very low birth weight neonates: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE To compare the pain relief effect of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) and Expressed Breast Milk (EBM) on the pain associated with adhesive tape removal in very low birth weight (VLBW) neonates. DESIGN Randomized Controlled Trial. SETTING Neonatal intensive care unit of a tertiary care teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS 15 VLBW neonates who needed adhesive tape removal for the first part and 50 VLBW neonates needing adhesive tape removal for the second part. METHODS In first stage of the study, we studied whether adhesive tape removal in VLBW neonates was painful. In the second stage, eligible VLBW neonates were randomised to compare the efficacy of KMC and EBM in reducing the pain during the procedure of adhesive tape removal. OUTCOME VARIABLES Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP) Score, heart rate, oxygen saturation. RESULTS There was significant increase in pain associated with the removal of adhesive tape (Mean pre-procedure PIPP score 3.47 ± 0.74; post-procedure mean PIPP score 12.13 ± 2.59; P<0.0001). The post intervention mean PIPP pain score was not significantly different between the KMC and EBM groups (P= 0.62). CONCLUSION Removal of adhesive tape is a painful procedure for VLBW neonates. There was no difference between KMC and EBM in relieving pain associated with adhesive tape removal.