Minimising Immunisation Pain of childhood vaccines: The MIP pilot study

Abstract

Aim Pain associated with immunisations can result in distress and/or anxiety for children and parents. We assessed the feasibility and acceptability of two novel devices; Coolsense (cold) and Buzzy (vibration ± cooling pads) versus standard care to minimise pain during immunisations. We also evaluated compliance to the devices and parent's perception of the effectiveness of the devices/standard care for minimising pain during immunisation. Design Open label, pilot, randomised controlled trial (RCT). Methods Forty children aged 3.5 to 6 years attending an Immunisation Centre at The Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, were randomised (1:1:1:1) into four groups: (i) Coolsense plus standard care; (ii) Buzzy with cold plus standard care; (iii) Buzzy without cold plus standard care; and (iv) Standard care alone (distraction with bubbles). Results and analysis Recruitment was completed in 12 days. Seventy percent were compliant with Buzzy (±cold), 82% with Coolsense, and 60% with standard care. Buzzy (with cold) was identified as effective by 70% of parents, Coolsense by 64%, Buzzy without cold by 50% and standard care by 60%. Conclusions This pilot study demonstrated feasibility. A larger RCT is needed to provide definitive evidence to inform best practice for minimising immunisation pain in young children.

Evaluation of pain-alleviating strategies during allergy shots (subcutaneous immunotherapy): a randomized controlled pilot study

“…Finally, we conducted a brief literature review of articles published on related topics to compare the results of this study with those existing in the medical literature (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18). Although we identified several studies evaluating the pain-alleviating strategies used by various intramuscular injections, most of the studies (conducted in the last decade) compared with ours showed some degree of improvement in pain M a n u s c r i p t a c c e p t e d f o r p u b l i c a t i o n tolerance with the use of various distraction devices including Buzzy.…”