Pain management is challenging in neonatal care. We aimed to compare the effects of gentle touch and sucrose on pain relief during suctioning in premature newborns (PTNB). This crossover randomized clinical trial enrolled PTNBs with low birth weight, hemodynamically stable, and requiring suctioning during hospitalization in the neonatal intensive care unit. PTNBs underwent three different suctioning procedures. The first was performed without intervention (baseline). Right after, PTNBs were randomly allocated (sucrose and gentle touch or vice versa) to the next two suctioning procedures. Two validated scales assessed pain: the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) and the Premature Infant Pain Profile-Revised (PIPP-R). We evaluated 50 PTNBs (mean of 28 weeks) with a mean low birth weight of 1050 g; most were under continuous positive airway pressure 37 (74%) and mechanical ventilation 41 (82%). Gentle touch was efficacious for pain relief since NIPS (p = 0.010) compared to baseline. Sucrose was also effective in reducing pain NIPS and PIPP-R (p < 0.001). Although the two interventions reduced pain, no difference was observed between gentle touch and sucrose.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Inadequate pain assessment in preterm infants (PI) is a persistent problem. Currently, a precise pain assessment is one of the main challenges for health professionals in the intensive care units (NICU). The objective of this study was to verify the correlation between the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) and Premature Infant Pain Prole - Revised (PIPP-R), internal consistency, and inter-evaluator reliability on pain assessment during aspiration in PI. METHODS: Prospective observational study with low birth weight PI (< 2500 g), hemodynamically stable, minimal or no sedation, under mechanical ventilation, continuous positive airway pressure, nasal cannula oxygen, or ambient air, and needing aspiration during hospitalization in the neonatal intensive care unit in the period from 2019 to 2020.. PI were evaluated during three different aspiration procedures: without intervention (1), using gentle touch (2), and using sucrose (3). NIPS and PIPP-R instruments were applied, while internal consistency was determined using Cronbach’s alpha, reliability using the intraclass correlation coefficient, and concurrent validity using Spearman’s correlation coefficient. RESULTS: Fifty PIs requiring tracheal aspiration were evaluated. NIPS and PIPP-R showed high (Cronbach α: 0.824) and moderate (Cronbach α: 0.655) internal consistency. Inter-e- valuation reliability was excellent in all aspiration procedures for NIPS (1: 0.991, 2: 0.987, and 3: 0.993) and PIPP-R (1: 0.997, 2: 0.986, and 3: 0.977). Concurrent validity was observed only for aspiration without intervention. CONCLUSION: Although NIPS may have better clinical utility than PIPP-R, both instruments presented good internal consistency and inter-evaluator reliability and may be used for assessing pain during aspiration in PI.

Introduction: Educational videos can improve parent engagement in early childhood development. For widespread adoption, these videos need to be practical and of high quality. This study evaluated how paediatric physiotherapists and parents perceived the educational videos of the ‘Move and Play Programme’. Methods: This cross‐sectional study included 209 paediatric physiotherapists and 100 parents, with data collected online. Each participant received links to two or three videos and an evaluation form. Videos were rated for presentation, content and objectives. Physiotherapists assessed clinical applicability, whereas parents rated home use. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse profiles and perceived video quality. Results: Most videos were rated as fully adequate in terms of presentation, content and clarity of objectives by both groups. Physiotherapists found the videos to be useful for guiding home‐based activities and communicating with families. Parents reported that the videos supported their infants' development and increased their confidence in performing activities independently. Most would recommend the videos. Conclusion: The ‘Move and Play Programme’ videos are effective tools for home developmental activities, recommended by both parents and paediatric physiotherapists.

Telehealth was an alternative in many countries during the COVID-19 pandemic for infants at risk of developmental delays. However, some barriers still challenge the adoption of telehealth as a care option, particularly once face-to-face interventions recommenced. This study aimed to identify the barriers and facilitators of a telehealth program to support infants at risk for developmental delays. A prospective longitudinal study was conducted with 30 infants born at risk of developmental delay (preterm or term, with mean age of 3.1 months). Infants were enrolled between 2-12 months of corrected age. The program consisted of weekly telehealth sessions with a physical therapist focusing on supporting children's cognitive, motor, speech, and language development. After 6 months, the caregivers answered a questionnaire on perceived barriers and facilitators of the telehealth program. A mean of 9.5 (range 2-12) sessions were carried out. Most caregivers (80%) felt comfortable and satisfied with the program, found the application for video calls easy to use, got help with their questions, and perceived improvements in the development of their infants. The main barrier was most caregivers rated the concern regarding their child as low (53.3%). Caregivers considered the telehealth program satisfactory and viable for complementary care and monitoring of infants' development.

Objectives:To verify the Correlation between the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) and Premature Infant Pain Profile – Revised (PIPP-R), the internal consistency of each scale, and assess the reliability between evaluators in the assessment of pain during the aspiration procedure in premature newborns. Methods: an observational, prospective study. Participated in the study, 50 infants who met the following criteria for inclusion: Newborn (NB) preterm (GA> 26 weeks and <36 weeks and five days) with low birth weight (<2500 g), hemodynamically stable, with minimal sedation or without sedation or mechanical ventilation in CPAP or catheter nose of O2 or the air environment that needed to perform the procedure of vacuum in the period of hospitalization. The evaluation of the newborns occurred during three different aspiration procedures; aspiration 1 (no intervention), aspiration 2 (use of gentle touch), and aspiration 3 (use of sucrose). They have applied two evaluation instruments, NIPS and PIPP-R. that Cronbach's alpha determined the internal consistency, reliability between evaluators by the coefficient of Correlation intraclass, validity competitor by Spearman test. Results: Internal Consistency was high for NIPS (r= 0.824) and moderate for PIPP-R (0.655). Reliability between raters was high respectively in the three conditions 0.991; 0.987; 0.993 on the NIPS scale and 0.997; 0.986; 0.977 on the PIPP-R scale. One observed concurrent validity Only in the first aspiration. Conclusion: the NIPS seems to have a better utility clinic than PIPP-R; however, the two scales showed good reliability among the evaluators, and internal consistency, being a good choice for evaluation of pain during the procedure of aspiration.