title: An evaluation of efficacy of balloon inflation on venous cannulation pain in children: a prospective, randomized, controlled study.
abstract: Venipuncture is the most common painful event for a hospitalized child. We evaluated the efficacy of balloon inflation for attenuating venipuncture pain in children. Seventy-five pediatric patients aged 6-12 yr, ASA physical status I-II, of either sex, undergoing elective surgery were included in this prospective and randomized study. Patients were randomly divided into 3 equal groups of 25 each; Group I (control), Group II (distraction) pressed a rubber ball, and Group III (balloon) inflated a balloon. A manual venous occlusion was applied on the forearm and venipuncture was performed with a 22-gauge venous cannula. Pain was self-reported by a pain face scale with a 10-cm visual analog scale (VAS) placed at its back, where 0 = "no pain" and 10 = "worst imaginable pain." VAS scores of 1-3 were rated as mild, 4-6 as moderate, and >6 as severe. Median (interquartile range) VAS score in the balloon group was 1 (3), which was reduced as compared with 2 (2) and 4 (2) observed in the distraction and control groups, respectively (P < 0.000). Significant reduction in the incidence and severity of venipuncture pain was also observed in the balloon group compared with the other 2 groups (P < 0.05).
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesia and Biostatistics, Sanjay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India.
authors.forename: Devendra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Anil
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dhiraaj
authors.forename: Manish
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tandon
authors.forename: Mukesh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Ravi Shankar
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Prabhat K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Uttam
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Singh
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018962:Phlebotomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014636:Valsalva Maneuver / Q000502:physiology*