Table 1.

Painful procedures commonly performed in the NICU.

Diagnostic Heel stick Venipuncture Arterial puncture Bronchoscopy Endoscopy Lumbar puncture Retinopathy of prematurity exam

Therapeutic Bladder catheterization Central line insertion/removal Chest physiotherapy Umbilical vessel catheterization Dressing change Gavage tube insertion Intramuscular injection Peripheral venous catheterization Mechanical ventilation Postural drainage Removal of adhesive tape Suture removal Tracheal intubation/extubation Tracheal suctioning Ventricular tap

SurgicalCircumcision Cardiac surgery Congenital anomaly repairs Minimally invasive surgeries (laparoscopy, thoracoscopy)

Information taken and adapted from Anand and International Evidence-Based Group for Neonatal (21) and Johnston et al. (22).