That 'Spoonful of Sugar' Actually Works
A sweet treat may make shots more bearable for kids, new research reveals.
May 15, 2010— -- Giving infants sugar helps reduce the pain of vaccinations, researchers have found.
The effect appears to be strong in those up to 12 months old, but weaker in older infants than newborns, Denise Harrison of Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne and colleagues reported online in Archives of Disease in Childhood.
Still, sucrose or glucose should be considered before and during injections, they said.
"Based on extensive evidence of the efficacy of sweet solutions in neonates and the evidence from this systematic review, sucrose or glucose along with other recommended physical or psychological pain reduction strategies, such as non-nutritive sucking, breast-feeding, or effective means of distraction, should be consistently utilized for immunization," they wrote.
"This information is important for healthcare professionals working with infants in both inpatient and outpatient settings, as sweet solutions are readily available, have a very short onset of time to analgesia, are inexpensive, and are easy to administer."
The efficacy of sugar solutions in reducing pain from minor procedures has been well-established for newborns, but the evidence wasn't as clear for infants older than one month.
To evaluate the evidence, Harrison and her colleagues performed a systematic review of 14 randomized controlled trials that included 1,674 total injections. Oral glucose or sucrose solutions were compared with water or no treatment.
Ten of the studies used sucrose solutions in concentrations ranging from 12 percent to 75 percent. A 30 percent glucose solution was used in another three studies. A final study evaluated two sucrose concentrations -- 25 percent and 50 percent -- and a 40 percent glucose solution compared with water.
Volumes were generally 2 mL or less, although one study used 10 mL of 25 percent sucrose.
In 13 of the 14 studies, sugar solutions of various concentrations administered during or after an immunization decreased crying incidence and duration, as well as composite pain scores. In the 14th study, a 12 percent sucrose solution was no better than sterile water.
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