This descriptive study was conducted to evaluate pain in premature cases with invasive and noninvasive mechanical ventilation.

The population of the study consisted of premature babies with gestational age ≥25 weeks and ≤36 weeks in the NICU of three university hospitals in Konya city center. The sample of the study was calculated with the formula of the unknown sample and the number of samples consisted of 110 premature babies. It was supported that the number of samples was sufficient by power analysis.

The data of the study were collected between February 2018 and April 2019 with the EDIN (Échelle Douleur Inconfort Nouveau-Né, Neonatal Pain and Discomfort Scale) to determine the characteristics of premature babies. The dependent variable of the study consisted of pain score obtained from EDIN scale and the independent variable was the day of mechanical ventilator support with the descriptive information of the baby, mechanical ventilation mode, pressure and route of administration, infant feeding mode and skin integrity.

Data were analyzed by number, percentage, mean and standard deviation, t-test in independent groups, Mann Whitney U test, Kruskal Wallis test, Pearson Spearman correlation analysis, and multiple regression. Significance level was accepted as p <.05. The mean pain score of the premature patients who received invasive and noninvasive mechanical ventilation on EDIN scale was 5.43 ± 1.86. The increase in the scores obtained from the EDIN scale indicates an increase in pain sensation. When the level of chronic pain was examined according to gender, gestational week, type of delivery, birth pain, observation time, diagnosis, type of food, type of mechanical ventilation, mode and pressure of premature newborns who underwent mechanical ventilation, no significant difference was found between the mean score of the groups (p>. 05). It was found that chronic pain scores increased as the duration of hospitalization and the duration of mechanical ventilation increased in premature newborns who underwent mechanical ventilation (p <.05). The mean chronic pain score of the newborns with a risk of deterioration of the skin integrity was found to be significantly higher than those without risk of deterioration of the skin integrity (p <.01).

As a result; in this study, it was found that premature babies receiving mechanical ventilation have intermediate pains. However, it was found that as the duration of hospitalization and the duration of mechanical ventilation increased and the presence of deterioration of skin integrity, the pain was increased. It was recommended to give importance to skin evaluation in premature babies who received mechanical ventilation, to perform routine pain assessment, to take measures to reduce pain in infants whose duration of stay in mechanical ventilation is more than 5 days and to plan similar studies.

Keywords: EDIN scale, Mechanical ventilation, Nursing, Pain, Premature

-This study ias made by Fatma AVCU