Skin conductance measurements as pain assessment in newborn infants born at 22-27 weeks gestational age at different postnatal age

Abstract Background To assess pain or stress in newborn infants submitted to intensive care is important but difficult, as different observational pain scales are not always reliable in premature infants. As an indicator of pain, skin conductance (SC) measurements have detected increased sweating in newborn infants > 28 gestational age (GA) submitted to heel lancing. Objective To measure SC during heel lancing and routine care in newborn infants, born at 22 to 27 GA, with special relation to postnatal age (PNA). Methods In six infants Results Baseline SC prior to intervention took longer time to stabilise and was higher in Conclusion Changes in SC could be detected in infants at