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Cough trick may reduce pain from pediatric vaccines in some patients
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Data from a recent study revealed that a “cough trick” may be an effective strategy for decreasing pain from immunization injections in some children.
Dustin P. Wallace, PhD, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and other researchers conducted a study to evaluate the potential for using a cough trick to lessen pain while children receive injections. They selected 68 children, aged 4 to 5 years or 11 to 13 years, who were scheduled for preschool immunizations to participate in the research.
During the study, clinical nurses instructed each child to give one “warm-up” cough of moderate force prior to injection, followed by a second cough that coincided with needle puncture. Researchers used three separate visual analog scales (VAS) through which the children, their parents and the nurses administering the injections independently reported the child’s perception of pain.
Initial results indicated that the cough trick had no significant overall effect on reducing pain in children during immunization injections. However, researchers said the cough trick’s efficacy might be linked to race. Data pertaining to the children’s races or ethnicities showed that the cough trick was more effective on children who identified as Hispanic white or non-Hispanic white, reporting a 40% mean decrease in pain, as opposed to children who identified as black.
“Although broad ethnic/racial categories are biologically imprecise… ethnic/racial identification has been associated with differences in how individuals respond to and cope with pain,” wrote the researchers. “Future research might evaluate the interactions of the race/ethnicity of clinic staff members and that of patients or might target culturally mediated factors such as willingness to disclose pain, trust in the medical system and belief in pain management strategies.” – by Melissa Foster
Wallace DP. Pediatrics. 2010;125.
It is an old trick to try and distract the kids when giving injections. Other tricks include slightly hitting the child on one arm, saying there was a fly there and then quickly giving the injection in the other arm; taking a pen, hitting the arm and then injecting in the other arm, etc.
– Richard Lander, MD
Infectious Diseases in Children Editorial
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