BackgroundEye examination is one of the painful procedures for infants. Eye screening for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is an essential intervention to prevent visual impairment in preterm infants. However, Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) is a well-established framework for all of the interventions on premature infants, and pain management is the main subject of this program.PurposeThe aim of this study is to determine the effect of NIDCAP on the pain caused by eye examination for ROP screening.MethodsIn this non-randomized controlled clinical trial, 60 infants were classified in two groups (30 infants in the intervention group and 30 infants in the control group). The infants of the intervention group underwent NIDCAP protocols before, during, and after the examination and the infants of the control group received routine cares. Then, according to PIPP tool, level of pain in the two groups was evaluated.ResultsThe two groups were homogeneous in terms of demographic variables. The results showed that the interventions group experienced significantly lower increases in heart rate during exams (p = 0.001). The reduction of oxygen saturation during the examination in the intervention group was less than the control group, which was not statistically significant (p = 0.577). The two groups have no difference in behavioral status score during examination. While facial scores during the examination in the intervention group were significantly lower than the control group (p = 0.011). In terms of the total score of pain during examination, the newborns of the intervention group have a significantly lower pain score than the control group (p = 0.033).
Keywords: NIDCAP; eye examination; pain; premature infant; retinopathy of prematurity.