Table of Contents

HK J Paediatr (New Series)
Vol 16. No. 4, 2011

HK J Paediatr (New Series) 2011;16:247-252

Original Article

Effects of Parent's Presence on Pain Tolerance in Children during Venipuncture: A Randomised Controlled Trial

M Ozcetin, M Suren, E Karaaslan, E Colak, Z Kaya, O Guner


Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this study is to determine whether presence of parents can change tolerance of pain and distress in children. Materials and Methods: A hundred thirty five children (62 girls, and 73 boys) between 3-6 years who were admitted to the paediatric outpatient clinic were included in the study. The cases were randomised into two groups: those who were accompanied by a parent (group 1), and those who were accompanied by a hospital staff member (group 2). We used the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale to evaluate pain. Analyses were performed using commercially software (PASW ver.18, ID:33478001 SPSS inc. Chicago, IL). A p-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The mean age of the cases with their parents was 4.19±1.23 years. The mean age of cases with hospital personnel was 4.36±1.41 years. During the procedure, mean respiratory rates were 32.09±9.09/min and 38.60±8.70/min in groups 1 and group 2, respectively (p<0.05). The mean heart rates of group 1 were 123.24±16.08/min, and the mean heart rates of group 2 were 131.82±16.96/min; this difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). During the procedure 53 (77.9%) members of group 1 and 58 (86%) members of group 2 obtained Wong-Baker scores higher than 3, but this difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Conclusion: As a result, our study showed that parental presence had a minimal positive effect on pain tolerance, additional randomised and controlled studies with larger groups are required before a conclusion about the issue can be reached.

Keyword : Children; Pain; Parental presence; Venipuncture


Abstract in Chinese

 
 

©2024 Hong Kong Journal of Paediatrics. All rights reserved. Developed and maintained by Medcom Ltd.