Analgesic effect of TV watching during venipuncture

Carlo Valerio Bellieni ^1*, Duccio M Cordelli ², Morena Raffaelli ², Beatrice Ricci ², Guido Morgese ² and Giuseppe Buonocore ²

¹ istituto pediatria preventiva e neonatologia, Italy
² Dept of Pediatrics, University of Siena, Italy

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: bellieni{at}iol.it.

Accepted 11 July 2006

Abstract

Aim: To assess the analgesic effect of passive or active distraction during venipuncture.

Material and methods: we studied 69 children aged 7-12 years undergoing venipuncture. The children were randomly divided into three groups: a control group (C) without any distraction procedure, a group TV in which passive distraction was used, using a TV cartoon, and a group M in which mothers performed active distraction. Both mothers and children scored pain after the procedure.

Results: Main pain levels rated by the children were 23.04 (SD= 24.57), 17.39 (SD= 21.36) and 8.91 (SD= 8.65) for C, M, and TV groups respectively. Main pain levels rated by mothers were 21.30 (SD= 19.9), 23.04 (SD= 18.39) and 12.17 (SD= 12.14) for C, M, and TV groups respectively. Scores assigned by mothers and children indicated that procedures performed during TV watching were less painful (p<0.05) than control and procedures performed during active distraction.

Conclusion: TV watching was more effective than active distraction. This was due the emotional participation of mothers in the active procedure, or of the distracting power of television.

Keywords: analgesia, children, pain, television

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