Vibration and Cold for Pain Relief During Peripheral Intravenous Cannulation in Children With Intellectual Disability

Needle procedures are the most common and important source of pain and distress in children in the health care setting. Children with intellectual disability from any cause experience pain more frequently than healthy children. They often require venipuncture or IV cannulation for diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. Pain in this population is often unrecognised because these patients are frequently unable to self-report their pain. Now it's possible to measure pain in children with intellectual disability with specific pain scales, like NCCPC-PV (Non-Communicating Children's Pain Checklist, Post-operative Version).

The efficacy of a device combining vibration and cold for pain relief during venipuncture or IV cannulation has been recently reported in children. The device's actions are based on the Gate Control Theory, whereby cold and vibrations stimulate large fiber and inhibitory neurons to interrupt nociception. This non-pharmacologic technique for pain relief could be useful in this kind of patients in emergency department. To date, there is no study that validated Buzzy device for pain relief in children with intellectual disability.

The aim of this study is to test the effectiveness of Buzzy® (a device that provides cold and vibration), in reducing the pain during venipuncture or IV cannulation, in children with intellectual disability.