Iran Journal of Nursing

  Background and Aim: The pain of the intravenous cannulation is considered as the major limitation in pediatric clinical care. Reducing the pain of intravenous cannulation has been the motive for many investigations. In the present study, the effect of two methods for reducin the pain of intravenous cannulation in children was compared.

  Material and Method: Ninty children between 6-12 years old who admitted in the pediatric ward were selected and randomly allocated to either Emla cream group, music distraction group or control group in equal numbers. The pains of the children were assessed by Wong pain face scale and also, general behaviors of the samples were evaluated by the researcher.

  Results: Mean pain score in the Emla cream group was significantly lesser than the music and the control groups (1.36 against 3.5 and 3.56, respectively P< 0.001), but, there was no statistically significant difference between the control and music distraction groups. Sex, age and other variables had no effect on pain sensation during cannulation. In Emla cream group, the mean pain score were significantly lower in older children (over 10 years).

  Conclusion: This study showed that Emla cream can significantly reduce the pain of intravenous cannulation in children, especially in older ones. The researchers recommend the use of Emla cream one hour before intravenous cannulation in children.