Emma Olsson

Örebro University Hospital | USÖ · Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Background Lumbar puncture (LP) is a common invasive procedure, most frequently performed to diagnose infection. Physicians perform LP in newborn infants with the help of an assistant using a strict aseptic technique; it is important to monitor the infant during all the steps of the procedure. Without adequate analgesia, LP can cause considerable p...

Background: Neonates might be exposed to numerous painful procedures due to diagnostic reasons, therapeutic interventions, or surgical procedures. Options for pain management include opioids, non-pharmacological interventions, and other drugs. Morphine, fentanyl, and remifentanil are the opioids most often used in neonates. However, negative impac...

Background Neonates might be exposed to numerous painful procedures due to diagnostic reasons, therapeutic interventions, or surgical procedures. Options for pain management include opioids, non‐pharmacological interventions, and other drugs. Morphine, fentanyl, and remifentanil are the opioids most often used in neonates. However, negative impac...

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the benefits and harms, including pain, discomfort, and success rate, of any pharmacological intervention during lumbar puncture in newborn infants, compared to placebo, no intervention, non-pharmacological interventions, or other pharmacological inter...

Background: Newborn infants undergoing therapeutic hypothermia (TH) are exposed to multiple painful and stressful procedures. The aim of this systematic review was to assess benefits and harms of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for the management of pain and sedation in newborn infants undergoing TH for hypoxic-ischemic encep...

Background Newborn infants affected by hypoxic‐ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) undergo therapeutic hypothermia. As this treatment seems to be associated with pain, and intensive and invasive care is needed, pharmacological interventions are often used. Moreover, painful procedures in the newborn period can affect pain responses later in life, impair...

Introduction Preterm infants are at risk of negative consequences from stress and pain at the same time as they often are in need of intensive care that includes painful interventions. One of the frequent painful procedures preterm infants undergo is eye examination screening to detect early signs of ROP (retinopathy of prematurity). These examinat...

Background Clinical research has shown that therapeutic hypothermia after neonatal hypoxic-ischemic injury improves survival without disability. There is no consensus regarding pain relief or sedation during therapeutic hypothermia in newborns; however, therapeutic hypothermia seems to be associated with pain and stress, and adequate analgesia and...

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (methodology). The objectives are as follows: To systematically review the current literature describing the development, content, and measurement properties of clinical rating scales for the assessment of pain in newborn infants.

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To determine the effects of opioid analgesics in term or preterm neonates exposed to procedural pain, compared to placebo or no drug, non-pharmacological intervention, other analgesics or sedatives, other opioids, or the same opioid administered by a different r...

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To determine the effects of pharmacological interventions for pain and sedation management in newborn infants undergoing therapeutic hypothermia.

Preterm and sick newborn infants undergo several painful procedures during their hospital stay, potentially leading to short‐ and long‐term negative consequences. Pain assessment should be performed regularly to provide optimal pain management. Nurses' knowledge of and attitude toward neonatal pain assessment affect how pain is assessed and managed...

Background Human milk is recommended as the only nutritional source during the first 6 months of life. For preterm infants, the benefits of human milk are even more important and can alleviate the negative influences of preterm birth. Research aim To describe how Swedish human milk donors experienced the donation process. Method A prospective mix...

Objectives Performing randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in neonatal intensive care is challenging in many ways. While restrictive inclusion criteria or busy study protocols are obvious barriers, external barriers leading to termination of a study are seldom discussed. The aim of this study was to describe barriers for inclusion of families in neo...

Background Systematic use of pain intensity scales is considered a prerequisite for treatment of pain in hospitalized children, but already a decade ago, attention was called to the lack of robust evidence supporting the presumed positive association between their use and desired outcomes. Objectives To re-evaluate the evidence supporting the asso...

Background During the first period of life, critically ill as well as healthy newborn infants experience recurrent painful procedures. Parents are a valuable but often overlooked resource in procedural pain management in newborns. Interventions to improve parents’ knowledge and involvement in infants’ pain management are essential to implement in t...

The burden of pain in newborn infants has been investigated in numerous studies, but little is known about the appropriateness of the use of pain scales according to the specific type of pain or infant condition. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the reporting of neonatal pain scales in randomized trials. A systematic search up to March 2019...

Slutsats Sjuksköterskor och läkare var i stor utsträckning positiva till smärtskattning. Bristen på åtgärder efter smärtskattningen bidrog till att sjuksköterskor inte smärtskattade i den utsträckning som rekommenderas. Bakgrund För tidigt födda och sjuka nyfödda i behov av intensivvård utsätts för en mängd smärtsamma procedurer samtidigt som de är...

Aims: To investigate registered nurses' (RNs') and physicians' knowledge, attitudes, and experiences regarding assessing and managing pain in infants at seven level III neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in Sweden. Design: Descriptive and explorative study using an online questionnaire. Methods: A researcher-developed online questionnaire w...

Introduction: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that neonatal hip examination causes pain in newborns. Pain assessment using instruments such as the Premature Infant Pain Profile-Revised (PIPP-R) scale is recommended, but recently physiological and neurophysiological measures, for example, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and galva...

Background: Preterm infants are especially vulnerable to pain. The intensive treatment often necessary for their survival unfortunately includes many painful interventions and procedures. Untreated pain can lead to both short- and long-term negative effects. The challenge of accurately detecting pain has been cited as a major reason for lack of pa...

Aim To determine if oral glucose can have a pain relieving effect during routine hip exams in newborn infants. Methods In this randomized controlled study 100 newborn infants undergoing the routine physical examination including the potentially painful hip exam were included between March 2016 and April 2017. 50 infants were randomized to water (c...

Introduction Separation after preterm birth is a major stressor for infants and parents. Skin-to-skin contact (SSC) is a method of care suitable to use in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to minimise separation between parents and infants. Less separation leads to increased possibilities for parent-infant interaction, provided that the paren...

This clinical trial tested the pain relieving effect of live lullaby singing on behavioral and physiological pain responses during venepuncture in 38 preterm and full term neonates. Acute and repeated pain, as well as the use of analgesic drugs, may have long-term negative impact on infants’ development and future behaviour. This emphasizes the nee...

Design and methods: A descriptive design was used where 20 fathers of premature infants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview-guide. The guide contained the following five topics: the fathers' feelings about and experiences of using skin-to-skin contact (SSC), the physical environment at the Neonatal Intensive Care unit, staff attitud...

This study investigated if skin-to-skin contact could provide pain relief, measured with near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), during venepuncture in premature infants. Ten infants born at 26-35 weeks of gestation were examined during a blood sampling procedure with venepuncture under two different conditions: in skin-to-skin contact with their mother...

Aim: To investigate the application of skin-to-skin care (SSC) in the Nordic countries, the existence of guidelines for SSC and the attitudes of neonatal staff towards SSC. Methods: One questionnaire was distributed at unit level and one at staff level in all Nordic neonatal intensive care units (n = 109). Results: The unit questionnaire was answer...

Background and Aims: Skin-to-skin contact (SSC) has positive physiological and psychological effects and is implemented in neonatal care to various degree all over the world. Little is known though, to what extent and for which populations. The primary aim or this study was to investigate the level of implementation of SSC in the Nordic countries,...

The aim of this study was to determine whether oral glucose could have a pain-relieving effect during the eye examinations that premature neonates undergo in the screening for retinopathy of prematurity. Studies have shown that orally administered sweet-tasting solutions reduce signs of pain during painful procedures such as venepuncture and heel s...