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document
Topical anesthesia during infant eye examinations : does it reduce stress ? We studied the effect of topical anesthesia on infant stress and corneal haze during the routine eye examination for retinopathy of prematurity . Using a double-blind protocol , 55 premature infants weighing less than 1501 g at birth were selected randomly to receive normal saline or proparacaine HCl 0.5 % eye drops as a corneal wetting agent at their initial eye examination . Before , during , and after the procedure , infant stress was evaluated by heart rate , respiration rate , blood pressure , and transcutaneous oxygen saturation . Subjective assessment of the infant 's cry intensity and corneal haze also were recorded . Adequate data were collected on 42 patients . Using analysis of variance and chi-square tests , we found no difference in any of these parameters between the two patients groups . These data suggest that topical anesthetic agents offer no advantage over normal saline eye drops during the examination of premature infants .
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Intervention_Physical
Topical anesthesia
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Intervention_Physical
topical anesthesia
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Intervention_Pharmacological
normal saline or proparacaine HCl 0.5 % eye drops
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Intervention_Pharmacological
anesthetic
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Outcome_Physical
heart rate , respiration rate , blood pressure , and transcutaneous oxygen saturation . Subjective assessment of the infant 's cry intensity and corneal haze