For Release: August 4, 1997, 5 PM (ET)
Below is a highlight of a study appearing on the August PEDIATRICS electronic pages, the Internet extension of Pediatrics, the peer-reviewed, scientific journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). To receive the full text of this study, please contact the AAP Division of Public Relations at 847-7877 and ask for CE3-97. The complete study also is available on PEDIATRICS electronic pages at http://www.pediatrics.org.
SUGAR-DIPPED PACIFIER AND IMPROVED RESTRAINT EASE CIRCUMCISION DISTRESS
CHICAGO----A pacifier dipped in sugar and a more comfortable restraint can help reduce a newborns stress and pain during circumcision, a new study finds. Published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on PEDIATRICS electronic pages, the study examined 80 healthy, full-term male newborns. The authors, from HealthPartners, Minneapolis, and the University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development, Minneapolis, report that placing infants on a newly designed padded restraint chair reduced infant distress during the procedure by more than 50 percent. This method was used in conjunction with a dorsal penile nerve block, an anesthetic used in some circumcisions. In addition, infants given pacifiers dipped in a concentrated sugar solution had a similar reduction in distress. The authors conclude that if physicians continue to circumcise newborns, they should try to minimize the procedures pain and stress. EDITORS NOTE: Since 1989, the AAP has maintained that circumcision has potential medical benefits and advantages, as well as inherent disadvantages and risks. The AAP recognizes there have been changes in the clinical environment since this statement, particularly in the area of anesthesia for newborns, and has reconvened a task force to revisit the policy statement.
[For an interview on this study, contact Howard Stang, M.D., at 612/653- 2143.]
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EDITORS NOTE: This study appeared on the peer-reviewed, scientific electronic pages of the American Academy of Pediatrics, but does not necessarily reflect the policies or opinions of the Academy. The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 53,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.
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