Pain experienced by infants and toddlers at urine collection bag removal: A randomized, controlled, clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: In pre-continent children, collection bags are frequently used as a first-line option to obtain a urine specimen. This practice, acknowledged by several guidelines for the step of UTI screening, is driven by a perception of the technique as being more convenient and less painful. However, our own experience led us to consider bag removal as a painful experience. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to determine whether the use of an oleo-calcareous liniment to aid bag removal reduced the acute pain expressed by young children. METHODS: This prospective, randomized, controlled, single blind study was carried out in two emergency pediatrics departments. Pre-continent children aged 0-36 months admitted with an indication for urine testing were eligible for the study. Urine for dipstick test screening was obtained using a collection bag. At micturition, the patients were randomized into bag removal with (intervention group) or without (control group) liniment. Bag removal was recorded on video in such a manner as to permit independent assessments of pain by two evaluators blinded to group allocation. Pain was assessed using the FLACC scale. FINDINGS: 135 patients were analyzed: 70 in the intervention group and 65 in the control group. The median FLACC scores [interquartile range] for the intervention and control groups, respectively 4.0 [2.0-7.0] and 4.0 [3.0-7.0], did not differ significantly (p = 0.5). A FLACC score ≥4 was obtained for 56% of the patients and a score ≥7 for 28%. CONCLUSION: Removal of urine collection bags caused moderate to severe pain in half of the children included. The use of an oleo-calcareous liniment did not reduce this induced pain.

[Urine collection and pain in pediatric emergency departments]. / Recueil urinaire et douleur aux urgences pédiatriques.

In cases of suspected urinary infection when babies are admitted to emergency departments, a cyto-bacteriological urine test is necessary. Collection bags are associated with a high risk of "false positives" while catheterisation is an invasive technique. Nursing teams in the paediatric emergency departments of Limoges and Poissy general hospitals carried out a study to assess the benefits of both methods, the feasibility of catheterisation in children under 3 months and the pain this procedure causes. They also examined the children's, nurses' and parents' own experiences of the treatment.