Analgesia, nil or placebo to babies, in trials that test new analgesic treatments for procedural pain
This review assessed how often neonates in control groups experienced unnecessary pain during clinical trials involving procedural pain. We retrieved 45 studies in the 30 months up to June 2015 and found that in 29 (64% the control babies received either placebos or no treatment. Placebos were used in 15/25 (60% studies involving heel pricks and in 6/8 (75% involving venepuncture.
Acta paediatrica