Using sugar water to reduce pain in infants during throat scopes

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

This study evaluates the effectiveness of 24% sucrose solution in alleviating pain or distress in infants undergoing flexible nasolaryngoscopy at the SickKids Pediatric Otolaryngology Clinic. The research involves administering oral sucrose to infants scheduled for this procedure and measuring their pain responses. The goal is to determine if this simple intervention can improve the experience for young patients during a potentially uncomfortable diagnostic procedure.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

* Patient \<12 months of age;
* Scheduled for an appointment with Dr. Nikolaus Wolter or Dr. Jennifer Siu, who are Staff Pediatric Otolaryngologists at the Hospital for Sick Children, or Meghan Tepsich, a complex airway Nurse Practitioner at SickKids;
* Requiring flexible nasolaryngoscopy for diagnostic purposes;
* Accompanied by caregivers who provided consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patient \>12 months of age
* Infants \<37 weeks corrected gestational age
* Infants with decreased level of consciousness or delayed neuromuscular development with limited pain response
* Infants who have received acute/urgent /emergent airway assessment such as respiratory distress or a foreign body, etc.
* Infants who have received topical anesthesia (topical decongestant/anesthetic spray)
* Infants with the following conditions, where oral sucrose is contraindicated or ineffective:

  * Carbohydrate intolerance
  * Decreased level of consciousness or heavy sedation
  * Absent gag reflex
  * Non-functional gastrointestinal tract
  * History of aspiration, tracheoesophageal fistula
  * Necrotizing enterocolitis
* Infants whose parents did not consent to enrolling their child in the study, including randomization into either arm of the study due to preference for a given intervention
* Any other circumstance in which consent for participation in the study was not obtained prior to the scope

Infants will also be excluded from the study if they present with conditions in which FNL is contraindicated:

* Severe respiratory distress
* Post-palliative systemic artery to pulmonary artery shunt
* Single ventricle congenital heart disease

Where it's running

• The Hospital for Sick Children
  Toronto, Ontario, Canada Recruiting

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Nikolaus E. Wolter, MD — The Hospital for Sick Children
• Study coordinator: Nikolaus E. Wolter, MD
• Email: nikolaus.wolter@sickkids.ca
• Phone: 4168137654

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How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.