Pain-Relieving Effect of Music on Preschoolers during Immunization

Immunization is a medical procedure many children frequently undergo. As it involves pain, it is important to develop effective pain relief methods that are applicable from infancy. And the methods to reduce immunization-related pain in children are usually classified into pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches. The latter include: musical interventions, distraction using videos, breathing techniques, sucrose administration, and so on. In this study, the authors aimed to clarify the pain-relieving effect of music from speakers on preschoolers during immunization.

A randomized controlled trial using sex-based stratified randomization was conducted at a Japanese pediatric clinic between October and December 2016, involving 48 preschoolers aged 5 - 6. Among these, 25 listened to music (“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” played by a music box) from speakers before, during, and after influenza immunization (Music group), while the other 23 were not treated with musical intervention (Control group), with the following outcomes: primary: the Face Scale score; and secondary: the heart rate (HR) and oxygen saturation (SpO2) and salivary alpha amylase (sAA) levels. The demographic variables, confounders, Face Scale score, HR, and sAA level were compared between the Music and Control groups. The categorical variables were examined using Fisher’s exact test, while the continuous variables were analyzed using the Wilcoxon rank sum test or unpaired t-test based on the results of the Shapiro-Wilk test.

The results showed that there were no significant differences between the 2 groups in the age or sex. Among the confounders, only the rate of having a history of NICU admission was significantly higher in the Control (4; 17.39%) compared with Music (0; 0%) group (P = 0.0455). The Face Scale score and HR of the Control group immediately after influenza immunization were significantly higher than their baseline values (P < 0.0001, P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the Music and Control groups in the Face Scale score, HR, or SpO2 level immediately after influenza immunization or in the sAA level 10 minutes after it.

In conclusion, influenza immunization was painful for preschoolers. When based on the Face Scale score, HR, SpO2 and sAA levels as indices to measure immunization-related pain, music did not show pain-relieving effects. Therefore, it may be necessary to further examine the effect of music to reduce immunization-related distress in preschoolers.

Article by Yui Shiroshita, et al, from Japan.

Full access: http://mrw.so/NvnW0

Image by Mindy Hill, from Flickr-cc.