A Limited Number of Studies Against Recommended Non-Pharmacological Methods for Pain Relief During Orogastric Tube Insertion: A Review of Literature

Orogastric tube (OGT) feeding is a frequently used method to support the feeding of newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit. Studies and international guidelines indicate that OGT insertion causes acute pain in newborns. Non-pharmacological methods are recommended to reduce this pain caused by OGT insertion. These include; swaddling, oral sucrose and positioning. Although these non-pharmacological methods are reported to be effective, a limited number of studies have been found in the literature on non-pharmacological methods used to reduce pain caused by OGT insertion. In Turkey it did not reveal any studies on this subject. Additionally, as the responsibility of the OGT installation and replacement process belongs to the nurses, it is also important that nurses know and practice effective non-pharmacological methods. Considering these reasons; it is thought that this study will help to reveal the deficiency in the literature and provide a basic data to the studies. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the pain caused by OGT insertion procedure which is a painful procedure in preterms, to examine the recommended non-pharmacological methods used to reduce pain and to explain the duty/authority/responsibilities of newborn nurses in pain management.