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*Recebido do (Received from) Hospital Life Center e Faculdade de Medici- Key Words: EVALUATION: Pain; MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES: Pain;
na da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (FM/UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG PAIN: neonatology.
mencionado, os indicadores comportamentais de dor in- ser tranqilo, sem muitos rudos, com baixa luminosidade
cluem choro, mmica facial e atividade motora. O choro promovendo o mximo de conforto possvel.
considerado uma forma primria de comunicao dos recm-
nascidos e a sua presena diante do estresse mobiliza o ESCALAS DE AVALIAO
adulto, seja ele a me ou o profissional de sade envolvi-
do no seu cuidado. Porm, pouco especfico e cerca de As escalas mais usadas nessa faixa etria considerando as
50% dos recm-nascidos no choram devido a um proce- particularidades acima citadas so: o Sistema de Codifi-
dimento doloroso 10. Alm disso, ele pode ser desencade- cao da Atividade Facial Neonatal (Neonatal Facial Coding
ado por outros estmulos no-dolorosos, como fome ou System NFCS, Tabela I) 12 e a Escala de Dor no Recm-
desconforto. Alguns resultados parecem indicar que h Nascido e no Lactente (Neonatal Infant Pain Scale NIPS,
um choro especfico para dor, porm a validade da existn- Tabela II) 6. Outras escalas tm aplicado as ferramentas de
cia desse choro da dor tem sido questionada 11. O choro, medida incluindo parmetros comportamentais para avali-
como medida de dor, parece ser um instrumento til, sobre- ar a dor em situaes especficas, como no ps-operatrio,
tudo quando est associado a outras medidas de avaliao como o caso do Escore para a Avaliao da Dor Ps-Ope-
de dor 5. ratria do Recm-Nascido (CRIES, Tabela III) 13. A Escala de
A mmica facial um sinal sensvel, especfico e til em Sedao COMFORT (Tabela IV) tem sido empregada em re-
recm-nascidos de termo e prematuros na avaliao da dor, cm-nascidos submetidos ventilao mecnica para ava-
alm de ser mtodo no-invasivo 5. Ocorrem movimentos liar o grau de sedao 14. A Escala Perfil de Dor do Prematuro
faciais muito mais expressivos quando os lactentes so (Premature Infant Pain Profile PIPP, Tabela V) 15 a mais
submetidos a uma espetada no calcanhar do que quando indicada para prematuros por levar em considerao as al-
so submetidos frico do mesmo. Em relao puno teraes prprias desse grupo de pacientes (prematurida-
do calcanhar, observou-se que as reaes de contrao das
sobrancelhas, aperto dos olhos, aprofundamento da prega
nasolabial e abertura dos lbios estiveram presentes em
99% das vezes e que as reaes de lngua esticada e tre- Tabela I Sistema de Codificao da Atividade Facial
mor no queixo ocorreram em 70% dos lactentes logo aps Neonatal (NFCS)
o estmulo 12. Movimento facial O ponto 1 ponto
A anlise do padro motor tem-se mostrado menos sensvel
Fronte saliente Ausente Presente
e menos especfica que a expresso facial em prematuros
e recm-nascidos de termo. Isso ocorre porque, sobretudo Fenda palpebral estreitada Ausente Presente
nos prematuros, as respostas motoras podem ser menos Sulco nasolabial aprofundado Ausente Presente
evidentes que nos recm-nascidos de termo devido pos-
Boca aberta Ausente Presente
tura hipotnica ou doenas sistmicas associadas 10.
O estado comportamental do paciente nos momentos que Boca estirada (horizontal ou vertical) Ausente Presente
antecedem o estmulo doloroso afeta a intensidade da res- Lngua tensa Ausente Presente
posta. Recm-nascidos em sono profundo demonstram Protruso da lngua Ausente Presente
menos dor quando so analisadas as alteraes de mmi-
Tremor de queixo Ausente Presente
ca facial em relao queles que esto em estado de aler-
ta 12. O meio ambiente tambm interfere na intensidade da Pontuao mxima de 8 pontos, considerando dor 3.
resposta ao estmulo doloroso. Por isso, o ambiente deve NFCS Neonatal Facial Coding System.
Se a pontuao for igual ou maior que 5 deve ser administrada medicao para alvio da dor. A escala deve ser aplicada a cada duas horas
nas primeiras 24 horas aps o procedimento doloroso e depois a cada quatro horas por pelo menos 48 horas.
FC freqncia cardaca; PA presso arterial.
Define-se como ausente 0% a 9% do tempo de observao, com a alterao comportamental pesquisada; mnimo, 10% a 39% do tempo;
moderado, 40% a 69% do tempo e mximo com mais de 70% do tempo de observao. Nessa escala a pontuao varia de 0 a 21 pontos.
Escores menores ou iguais a 6 indicam ausncia de dor ou dor mnima; escores superiores a 12 indicam presena de dor moderada a intensa.
IG Idade Gestacional. RN recm-nascido.
de), tendo sido tambm validada sua aplicabilidade em si- unidades neonatais e peditricas; b) desconhecimento te-
tuaes de ps-operatrio. Essas escalas, de maneira ge- rico sobre a fisiopatologia da dor, mtodos de avaliao e
ral, esto sendo avaliadas quanto sua utilidade clinica, alternativas teraputicas por parte da equipe multiprofissi-
sobretudo levando-se em conta o uso em recm-nascidos onal que atua diretamente com esses pacientes.
prematuros e gravemente enfermos 16. Portanto, o objetivo principal deste artigo chamar a aten-
o para que a dor no recm-nascido seja valorizada como
CONSIDERAES FINAIS o quinto sinal vital, sendo avaliada de maneira sistematiza-
da e tratada mediante protocolos previamente estabelecidos,
A atual ateno para melhores mtodos de medio e ava- abolindo o empirismo e o subtratamento. Essa cultura deve
liao serviu para aumentar a sensibilidade dos profissio- ser incorporada prtica diria das unidades e no como
nais de sade em relao natureza das experincias rotina aplicada em situaes especficas. Uma vez difundi-
dolorosas. Mtodos de quantificao que incorporem a in- do esse padro de comportamento, torna-se uma transgres-
fluncia de fatores contextuais na percepo e na resposta so no avaliar e no tratar a dor desses pacientes to
dor so promissores 10,17. Alm disso, novas pesquisas frgeis e expostos com tanta freqncia a procedimentos
sobre os mecanismos e o processamento da dor em crian- dolorosos e estressantes.
as podem levar ao desenvolvimento de novos mtodos de
medio da dor nas crianas na fase pr-verbal.
Apesar dos inmeros subsdios tericos e das indicaes
bem-estabelecidas de avaliao da dor no perodo neona- Pain Evaluation in Neonatology
tal, a prtica revela iniciativas ainda muito tmidas de aes
direcionadas para a avaliao e o controle da dor nessa fai- Yerkes Pereira e Silva, M.D.; Renato Santiago Gomez, TSA,
xa etria 18. Alguns autores, 19 ao avaliarem 17 Unidades de M.D.; Thadeu Alves Mximo, M.D.; Ana Cristina Simes e
Terapia Intensiva Neonatal, constataram que todos os pro- Silva, M.D.
fissionais de sade entrevistados acreditavam que o recm-
nascido sente dor. Entretanto, em apenas duas unidades INTRODUCTION
existiam rotinas escritas para o tratamento da dor, e de 30%
a 90% dos recm-nascidos de cada unidade no recebiam The study of pain has had a great development in the last two
qualquer tipo de analgesia durante a realizao de procedi- decades, making its evaluation, and corresponding inter-
mentos sabidamente dolorosos. As principais dificuldades vention, a growing concern among health professionals. Anand
para implementao de medidas de controle da dor so: a) and Craig consider pain perception a quality inherent to life,
ausncia de protocolos de avaliao e tratamento da dor nas being an early sign of tissue damage 1. These signs include
behavioral and physiological responses that are valid those parameters might not be specifically related with a
indicators of pain, which can be evaluated by an observer. painful stimulus, but with several events, such as hunger,
The objective of pain evaluation should be to offer accurate crying, discomfort, anxiety, or changes caused by the disease
data to determine the actions to be adopted to relieve or itself (shock, lung diseases, etc.). Due to accommodation
abolish them and, at the same time, evaluate the efficacy of and adaptation mechanisms that occur with physiological
those actions 2. Ideally, evaluation and treatment should be responses, these variations have been more useful in the
interdependent, because one is practically useless without the examination of painful experiences associated with short
other. Strategies of pain treatment without a systematic duration procedures 6,7.
evaluation are not effective or adequate. On the other hand, an
excellent evaluation without rigorous treatment follow-up will BEHAVIORAL MEASUREMENTS
not benefit the patient. Thus, in the clinical process of decision
making, in which pain relief is the objective, the first step is a Another method of evaluating and measuring pain in children
wide and adequate evaluation of the painful experience. is based on the observation of their behavior (facial ex-
One should consider the whole constellation of aspects that pression, posture, and vocalization or verbalization) 2. Several
could affect children response to pain, such as: anxiety, use scales were developed to measure behavior in children in
of analgesics, the meaning of pain to the child, cultural the presence of pain or discomfort. The discomfort refers to
norms, observation of other children with pain in the same negative emotional responses triggered by sensory expe-
area, duration of the pain, pain felt in the past, tiredness, riences of pain 8. Thus, a challenge for the use of behavioral
degree of parental anxiety, learned behaviors, presence of methods is to differentiate discomfort and agitation from cau-
health professionals, prior explanations about pain, use of ses other than pain.
psychological strategies to decrease pain, level of cognitive Similar to what happens with subjective measurements of
development, pain threshold, severity of the disease or pain, the stability of instruments that measure pain or be-
physical damage, and learned family behavior 3. havioral discomfort tends to be low, due to its variable nature
It is important to mention that, up to now, a technique of pain and related emotional states. Most observation instruments
evaluation in children, especially in newborns and infants, for children produce a total count that represents the sum of
widely accepted, easy to administer, and uniform that can be the number of values of severity in all items of the scale. The
used in every situation, is not available 1. Before trusting the belief of the evaluator on the scale is also important, since
accuracy of the evaluation data, health professionals should two observers can see and interpret the same behavior in
trust the instruments used to gather them. An instrument is different ways. The reliability among evaluators increases
valid if it really measures pain instead of other things as, for when the behaviors are based on evaluation lists (present
example, anger; it is reliable if their measurements are or absent) and when a reduced number of well-defined
compatible and adequate for the situation 2. behaviors is used 2.
One of the most problematic characteristics of pain severity A problem with the use of behavioral methods is that health
is that, for the most part, it is more of a state than a trait, care professionals tend to underestimate pain in children
since its severity does not remain stable long enough to when compared to self-reports. Parents also tend to under-
evaluate the stability of the instrument used to measure it 4. estimate the pain of their children; however, the values re-
Besides, in clinical practice, clinical usefulness is necessary ferred by them are closer to children self-reports than those
for any measuring instrument, which should have a high done by the nursing staff 9.
degree of acceptability and convenience for those that use it. Newborns are children in the pre-verbal stage and cannot
Useful clinical measurements give the users information to describe their pain in words. Pain evaluation is indirect.
plan, implement, and evaluate the services. Therefore, in those patients, it should be inferred from
Several indicators could be used to evaluate, quantify, and changes in behavioral and physiological parameters 10.
qualify the painful stimulus and, when they are analyzed as As mentioned before, behavioral indicators of pain include
a set, allow the discrimination between pain and non-painful crying, facial expressions, and motor activity. Crying is con-
stimuli 5. Although an objective standardization to measure sidered a primary form of communication of the newborns,
the severity of pain is desirable, it does not exist. and its presence in the face of stress mobilizes the adult,
may it be the mother or a health care professional involved
PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS in its care. However, it is not specific, and approximately 50%
of newborns do not cry in response to a painful procedure 10.
Pain activates compensatory mechanisms in the autono- Besides, it can be triggered by other non-painful stimuli as
mous nervous system, producing responses that include hunger and discomfort. Some results seem to indicate that
changes in heart and respiratory rate, blood pressure, oxygen there is a specific cry of pain, however, the existence of this
saturation, peripheral vasoconstriction, diaphoresis, dilation cry of pain has been questioned 11. Crying, as a measure
of the pupils, and increased release of catecholamines and of pain, seems to be a useful instrument, especially when it
adrenocorticosteroid hormones. However, the variation of is associated with other measures of pain evaluation 5.
If score is equal or greater than five, analgesics should be administered to relieve pain. The scale should be used every 2 hours in the first
24 hours after the painful procedure, followed by every 4 hours for at least 48 hours.
HR heart rate; BP blood pressure.
in newborns on mechanical ventilation to evaluate seda- also been validated to be used in the postoperative period.
tion 14. The Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP, Table V) 15 is In general, the clinical usefulness of those scales, especially
the most indicated for premature neonates because it takes regarding their use in premature and severely ill infants, is
into consideration changes specific to this group, and it has being validated 16.
GA in weeks 36 weeks 32 to 35 weeks and 6 days 28 to 31 weeks and 6 days < 28 weeks
Observe the NB for 15sec
Alertness Active Quiet Active Quiet
Awake Awake Sleep Sleeping
Opened eyes Opened eyes Closed eyes Closed eyes
Facial movements present No facial movements Facial movements present No facial movements
Record HR and SpO2
Maximal HR 0 to 4 bpm 5 to 14 bpm 15 to 24 bpm 25 bpm
Minimal Saturation 0 to 2.4% 2.5 to 4.9% 5 to 7.4% 7.5%
Observe NB for 30 sec
Frowned forehead Absent Minimal Moderate Maximal
Eyes squeezed Absent Minimal Moderate Maximal
Nasolabial furrow Absent Minimal Moderate Maximal
Absent is defined as 0 to 9% of the observation time; minimal, 10% to 39% of the time; moderate, 40% to 69% of the time; and maximal as
70% or more of the observation time. In this scale, scores vary from zero to 21 points. Scores equal or lower than 6 indicate absence of
pain or minimal pain; scores above 12 indicate the presence of moderate to severe pain.
GA Gestational Age. NB Newborn.
12. Grunau RV, Craig KD Pain expression in neonates: facial action debe ser el de proporcionar datos precisos para determinar cules
and cry. Pain, 1987;28:395-410. acciones deben ser toma de las para aliviarlo o eliminarlo y la
13. Krechel SM, Bildner J CRIES: a new neonatal postoperative mismo tiempo, evaluar la eficacia de esas acciones. La finalidad
pain measurement score. Initial testing of validity and reliability. de esta revisin fue discutir los mtodos utilizados en la evaluacin
Paediatr Anaesth, 1995;5:53-61. del dolor en neonatologa, cuando las estrategias de tratamiento uti-
14. Ambuel B, Hamlett KW, Marx CM et al. Assessing distress in liza de las sin una evaluacin sistemtica del dolor no son eficaces
pediatric intensive care environments: the COMFORT scale. J o adecua de las.
Pediatr Psychol, 1992;17:95-109.
15. Stevens B, Johnston C, Petryshen P et al. Premature infant CONTENIDO: No existe ninguna tcnica ampliamente aceptada y
pain profile: development and initial validation. Clin J Pain, fcilmente ejecutable y uniforme para la evaluacin del dolor en
1996;12:13-22.
nios, especialmente en los recin nacidos y lactantes que pueda
16. Stevens B, Gibbins S Clinical utility and clinical significance in
ser utilizada en todas las situaciones. Antes de confiar en la exacti-
the assessment and management of pain in vulnerable infants.
tud de los datos de Evaluacin, se hace necesario que los profesio-
Clin Perinatol, 2002;29:459-468.
nales de la salud se sientan seguros con los instrumentos usados
17. Aranda JV, Carlo W, Hummel P et al. Analgesia and sedation
during mechanical ventilation in neonates. Clin Ther, 2005;27:877-
en la recoleccin del esos datos. Varios indicadores pueden ser
899. usados en la evaluacin, cuantificacin y calificacin del estmulo
18. Chermont AG, Guinsburg R, Balda RCX et al. O que os pedia- doloroso, y cuando se analizan en conjunto, permiten el desglose
tras conhecem sobre avaliao e tratamento da dor no recm- entre el dolor y los estmulos no dolorosos. Aunque sea deseable
nascido? J Pediatr (RJ), 2003;79:265-272. la estandarizacin objetiva para la medicin de la intensidad del
19. Tohill J, McMorrow O Pain relief in neonatal intensive care. dolor, tal medida no existe todava. La medicin ene sea franja
Lancet, 1990;336:569. etaria es hecha por medio de parmetros fisiolgicos (frecuencia
cardaca, frecuencia respiratoria, presin arterial, etc) y com-
portamentales (expresin facial, postura y vocalizacin o ver-
balizacin), utilizando escalas de evaluacin, cada una con sus
RESUMEN ventajas y limitaciones.
Silva YP, Gomez RS, Mximo TA, Silva ACS Evaluacin del Dolor
en Neonatologa. CONCLUSIONES: La actual atencin para mejores mtodos de
medida y evaluacin del dolor aport para aumentar la sensibilidad
JUSTIFICATIVA Y OBJETIVOS: El estudio del dolor ha avanzado de los profesionales de salud con relacin a la naturaleza de las
mucho en las ltimas dcadas haciendo con que la evaluacin y experiencias dolorosas. El dolor debe ser entendido como la quinta
la intervencin sean una preocupacin creciente entre los seal vital y evaluada de manera sistematizada, tambin en los
profesionales de la salud. El objetivo de la evaluacin del dolor recin nacidos.