Advances in Research on Procedural Pain Management in Neonates

© 2026 by the Authors. Licensee Whioce Publishing, Singapore. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )

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Abstract

Neonatal procedural pain is one of the most frequent clinical challenges in the NICU. It not only causes acute physiological stress but also possibly has long-term neurodevelopmental adverse effects. In recent years, with a change in pain concept and advancement in evidence-based medicine, strategies for managing neonatal procedural pain have been becoming increasingly systematic and individualized. By reviewing domestic and international research progress, this article summarizes the current status of procedural pain occurrence, pain assessment tool application and timing, and non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions in clinical practice, including healthcare professional education and training; it aims to provide a reference for clinical practice and further improve the quality of neonatal pain management.

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