Liisa Holsti

Neonatal procedural pain exposure predicts lower cortisol and behavioral reactivity in preterm infants in the NICU

Data from animal models indicate that neonatal stress or pain can permanently alter subsequent behavioral and/or physiological reactivity to stressors. However, cumulative effects of pain related to acute procedures in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) on later stress and/or pain reactivity has received limited attention. The objective of this study is to examine relationships between prior neonatal pain exposure (number of skin breaking procedures), and subsequent stress and pain reactivity in preterm infants in the NICU. Eighty‐seven preterm infants were studied at 32 (±1 weeks) postconceptional age (PCA). Infants who received analgesia or sedation in the 72 h prior to each study, or any postnatal dexamethasone, were excluded. Outcomes were infant responses to two different stressors studied on separate days in a repeated measures randomized crossover design: (1) plasma cortisol to stress of a fixed series of nursing procedures; (2) behavioral (Neonatal Facial Coding System; NFCS) and cardiac reactivity to pain of blood collection. Among infants born ≤28 weeks gestational age (GA), but not 29–32 weeks GA, higher cumulative neonatal procedural pain exposure was related to lower cortisol response to stress and to lower facial (but not autonomic) reactivity to pain, at 32 weeks PCA, independent of early illness severity and morphine exposure since birth. Repeated neonatal procedural pain exposure among neurodevelopmentally immature preterm infants was associated with down‐regulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, which was not counteracted with morphine. Differential effects of early pain on development of behavioral, physiologic and hormonal systems warrant further investigation.

Bedside application of the Neonatal Facial Coding System in pain assessment of premature neonates

&NA; Assessment of infant pain is a pressing concern, especially within the context of neonatal intensive care where infants may be exposed to prolonged and repeated pain during lengthy hospitalization. In the present study the feasibility of carrying out the complete Neonatal Facial Coding System (NFCS) in real time at bedside, specifically reliability, construct and concurrent validity, was evaluated in a tertiary level Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Heel lance was used as a model of procedural pain, and observed with n=40 infants at 32 weeks gestational age. Infant sleep/wake state, NFCS facial activity and specific hand movements were coded during baseline, unwrap, swab, heel lance, squeezing and recovery events. Heart rate was recorded continuously and digitally sampled using a custom designed computer system. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed statistically significant differences across events for facial activity (P<0.0001) and heart rate (P<0.0001). Planned comparisons showed facial activity unchanged during baseline, swab and unwrap, then increased significantly during heel lance (P<0.0001), increased further during squeezing (P<0.003), then decreased during recovery (P<0.0001). Systematic shifts in sleep/wake state were apparent. Rise in facial activity was consistent with increased heart rate, except that facial activity more closely paralleled initiation of the invasive event. Thus facial display was more specific to tissue damage compared with heart rate. Inter‐observer reliability was high. Construct validity of the NFCS at bedside was demonstrated as invasive procedures were distinguished from tactile. While bedside coding of behavior does not permit raters to be blind to events, mechanical recording of heart rate allowed for an independent source of concurrent validation for bedside application of the NFCS scale.

Extremely premature (< or = 800 g) schoolchildren: multiple areas of hidden disability.

AIM To examine the functional abilities of extremely low birthweight (ELBW, ⩽ 800 g) children at school age compared with full term children. METHODS ELBW children (n=115) in a geographically defined regional cohort born between 1974 and mid-1985 (comprising 96% of 120 survivors of 400 ELBW infants admitted to the Provincial Tertiary neonatal intensive care unit), were compared with (n = 50) children of comparable age and sociodemographic status. Each child was categorised by the pattern and degree of disability, using a system derived from theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM IV). Psycho-educational, behavioural, and motor results for ELBW children free of severe/multiple neurosensory disabilities (n=90; 91% return rate) were compared with the term children. RESULTS Severe/multiple neurosensory disabilities were present in 16 ELBW children (14%), and 15 (13%) had borderline intelligence. ELBW children of global IQ ⩾ 85 scored significantly lower in standardised tests of fine and gross motor control, visuo–motor pencil output, visual memory, and academic achievement (reading, arithmetic, written language). ELBW survivors were three times more likely to have learning disorders (47%vs 18%) and 22 (41%) of the 54 ELBW children with learning disorders had multiple areas of learning difficulty. Of the ELBW group, 30 (26%) were not disabled compared with 41 (82%) of the term group. Only five (12%) of the ELBW boys were not disabled, compared with 25 (35%) of the ELBW girls. Finally, ELBW children had significantly worse scores on ratings of behaviour during testing by the psychologist and behaviour by parental report. CONCLUSION The most likely outcome for ELBW survivors at school age is a learning disorder, often multiple, or borderline intellectual functioning, combined with behavioural and motor risk factors rather than severe/multiple disability. Mean scores on psycho-educational testing showed poorer performance of the ELBW children, but grossly understated the complex nature of the individual degree of educational difficulty faced by these children.

Developmental Coordination Disorder in Extremely Low Birth Weight Children at Nine Years

ABSTRACT. Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is defined as an impairment in the development of motor coordination that interferes with academic achievement or activities of daily living (DSM-IV). DCD has been reported to affect 5% to 9% of children in the normal population. This study describes the prevalence of DCD in a cohort of extremely low birth weight children (ELBW, ≤800 g) at 8.9 years of age, from which were excluded children with major impairments. Seventy-three children were included in the study group, along with 18 term-born, socially matched controls. Of the 73 ELBW children, 37 (51%) were classified as having DCD. ELBW children with DCD also had significantly lower Performance IQ (PIQ) scores and were more likely (43%) to have a learning difficulty in arithmetic than ELBW children who did not have DCD. This study found that DCD is a common problem in school-aged ELBW children.

Behavioral responses to pain are heightened after clustered care in preterm infants born between 30 and 32 weeks gestational age

ObjectiveTo compare biobehavioral pain responses of preterm infants born at differing gestational ages (GAs) when pain was preceded by a rest period or by a series of routine nursing interventions. MethodsIn a randomized, within subjects, cross-over design, facial (Neonatal Facial Coding System), sleep/wake state and heart rate (HR) responses of 43 preterm infants [mean birth weight: 1303 g (range 590 g to 2345 g); mean GA at birth: 30 weeks (range 25 to 32)] were examined across 3 phases of blood collection (Baseline, Lance, and Recovery) under 2 conditions: pain after a 30-minute rest period versus pain after a series of routine nursing interventions (clustered care). Infant behavioral responses were coded from continuous bedside videotapes. HR was analyzed using custom physiologic signal processing software. ResultsInfants born at earlier GA (<30 wk) had equally intense facial responses during the Lance phase regardless of condition. However, later born infants (≥30 wk GA) showed heightened facial responses indicative of sensitized responses during blood collection when it was preceded by clustered care (P=0.05). Moreover, later born infants had significantly lower facial (P=0.05) and HR (P=0.04) reactivity during Recovery when blood collection followed clustered care. DiscussionEarlier born preterm infants showed heightened states of arousal and poor ability to modulate HR during Recovery when an invasive procedure was preceded by routine tactile nursing procedures. Alternatively, later born infants exhibited sensitized responses when clustered care preceded blood collection. Our findings support the importance of cue based individualized approaches to care.

Initial validation of the Behavioral Indicators of Infant Pain (BIIP)

Abstract Accurate pain assessment in preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is complex. Infants who are born at early gestational ages (GA), and who have had greater early pain exposure, have dampened facial responses which may lead to under‐treatment. Since behavioral and physiological responses to pain in infants are often dissociated, using multidimensional scales which combine these indicators into a single score may limit our ability to determine the effects of interventions on each system. Our aim was to design a unidimensional scale which would combine the relatively most specific, individual, behavioral indicators for assessing acute pain in this population. The Behavioral Indicators of Infant Pain (BIIP) combines sleep/wake states, 5 facial actions and 2 hand actions. Ninety‐two infants born between 23 and 32 weeks GA were assessed during 3, 1 min Phases of blood collection. Outcome measures included changes in BIIP and in Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) scores coded in real time from continuous bedside video recordings; changes in heart rate (HR) were obtained using custom physiological processing software. Scores on the BIIP changed significantly across Phases of blood collection (p < 0.01). Internal consistency (0.82) and inter‐rater reliability (0.80–0.92) were high. Correlations between the BIIP and NIPS were modest (r = 0.64, p < 0.01) as were correlations between the BIIP and mean heart rate (r = 0.45, p < 0.01). In this initial study, the BIIP has been shown to be a reliable, valid scale for assessing acute pain in preterm infants in the NICU.

Neonatal pain and developmental outcomes in children born preterm: a systematic review.

Background:Neonates cared for in neonatal intensive care units are exposed to many painful and stressful procedures that, cumulatively, could impact later neurodevelopmental outcomes. However, a systematic analysis of these effects is yet to be reported. Objectives:The aim of this research was to review empirical studies examining the association between early neonatal pain experiences of preterm infants and the subsequent developmental outcomes of these children across different ages. Methods:The literature search was performed using the PubMed, PsycINFO, Lilacs, and SciELO databases and included the following key words: “pain,” “preterm,” and “development.” In addition, a complementary search was performed in online journals that published pain and developmental studies to ensure all of the target studies had been found. The data were extracted according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results:Thirteen studies were analyzed. In infants born extremely preterm (gestational age ⩽29 wk) greater numbers of painful procedures were associated with delayed postnatal growth, with poor early neurodevelopment, high cortical activation, and with altered brain development. In toddlers born very preterm (gestational age ⩽32 wk) biobehavioral pain reactivity-recovery scores were associated with negative affectivity temperament. Furthermore, greater numbers of neonatal painful experiences were associated with a poor quality of cognitive and motor development at 1 year of age and changes in cortical rhythmicity and cortical thickness in children at 7 years of age. Conclusions:For infants born preterm, neonatal pain-related stress was associated with alterations in both early and in later developmental outcomes. Few longitudinal studies examined the impact of neonatal pain in the long-term development of children born preterm.

Body movements: an important additional factor in discriminating pain from stress in preterm infants

Objectives:To describe developmentally appropriate, specific body movements and other biobehavioral responses of preterm infants to a group of routine care giving tasks (Clustered Care), and to compare responses to acute pain with those of Clustered Care. Methods:In a randomized design, 54 preterm infants were assessed at 32 weeks gestational age during 3 phases of blood collection (Baseline, Lance/squeeze, Recovery) and of diaper changing, measuring abdominal girth and axillary temperature, and mouth care (Baseline, Clustered Care, Recovery) in a neonatal intensive care unit. The Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program and 1 facial action from the Neonatal Facial Coding System, Brow Bulge, were coded from separate continuous bedside video recordings. Heart rate and oxygen saturation were also acquired continuously. Results:Brow Bulge, heart rate, and a subset of 9 Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program movements increased and oxygen saturation decreased significantly to Lance/squeeze compared to Baseline. Similar facial and physiological changes occurred during Clustered Care, but with less intensity. However, infants showed greater frequencies and variety of Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program stress cues during Clustered Care than during Lance/squeeze. Stress cues persisted after Clustered Care, whereas the infants returned to Baseline following Lance/squeeze. Discussion:Changes in facial activity and heart rate remain the most sensitive markers of pain in preterm infants. Tactile procedures, such as diaper changing, produce lower intensity facial and physiological responses than pain procedures, but greater body reactions. Also, the effects from tactile procedures appear to last longer. Adding observations of a small number of specific body movements to the assessment of pain and stress provides complementary information particularly for those infants who may show dampened facial reactivity as a result of repeated pain exposure.

Are there developmentally distinct motor indicators of pain in preterm infants

The aims of this study were to examine preterm infant reactions to pain in detail over prolonged time periods using multiple measures, and to assess the value of including specific body movements of the Neonatal Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) system to evaluate pain. Ten preterm infants born at 31 weeks mean gestational age (GA) and mean birth weight 1676 g were studied during a routine blood collection in a Level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). At 32-week post-conceptional age, computerized physiologic and video recordings were obtained continuously for 60 min (prior to, during and after lance). Motor and facial behaviors were coded independently, using the NIDCAP and the NFCS (Neonatal Facial Coding System), respectively, and compared with heart rate (HR) and oxygen saturation responses. Of the movements hypothesized to be stress cues in the NIDCAP model, extension of arms and legs (80%) and finger splay (70%) were the most common following lance. Contrary to the model, most infants (70%) had lower incidence of twitches and startles post-lance compared to baseline. Whereas all infants showed some NFCS response to lance, for three infants, the magnitude was low. HR increased and oxygen saturation decreased post-lance. Infants with more prior pain exposure, lower Apgar, and lower GA at birth, displayed more motor stress cues but less facial activity post-lance. Extension of extremities and finger splay, but not twitches and startles, from the NIDCAP, appear to be stress cues and show promise as clinical pain indicators to supplement facial and physiological pain measures in preterm infants.

Is it painful or not? Discriminant validity of the Behavioral Indicators of Infant Pain (BIIP) scale.

Objectives To evaluate the ability of the Behavioral Indicators of Infant Pain (BIIP) scale to discriminate between skin-breaking and nonskin breaking procedures, and to identify sensitized pain responses in preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Methods Sixty-nine infants born between 24 and 32 weeks gestational age were assessed at 32 weeks postconceptional age during blood collection on one day (procedure A), and then on another day during blood collection preceded by a diaper change (procedure B). Procedure order was randomized. Outcome measures were changes in BIIP coded from continuous bedside video recordings and changes in heart rate (HR). Results During blood collection (procedure A), BIIP scores (P<0.0001) and mean HR (P<0.0001) were higher than during the diaper change and higher when the infants had had a preceding diaper change (procedure B vs. procedure A) (P<0.03). HR changed from baseline to the stressors for each procedure. No differences in mean HR were observed during Lance phase between the procedure A and the B blood collection; however, HR remained elevated significantly during the Recovery phase when blood collection was preceded by the diaper change (P<0.03). Discussion The BIIP scale is reliable, accurate, and valid assessment for measuring acute pain in preterm infants in the NICU. This assessment combines the relatively most specific, anatomically based, theoretically derived indicators; and it allows evaluation of behavioral and physiologic pain responses separately.