ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT03272594iCAPUpdated Nov 8, 2019

The Influence of Breastfeeding on Cortical Activity During Procedures

A Phase 3 interventional study of Breastfeeding and 24% oral sucrose in Pain and Neonatal, sponsored by Britney Benoit. Completed at 1 site in Canada. Open to participants aged Up to 72 Hours. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-11-08.

Sponsored by Britney Benoit · Phase 3, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
39
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
Up to 72 Hours
Sex
All
01

Where this study stands

Counted across the records on this site · 2026-11-13

Among 461 studies in Pain with a site in Canada — 62 open to participants now, 66 under way, 1 of them phase 3. Pain · Canada.

Enrollment
301st of 417
39 · median 65
Started
2017
with 20 others
Phase 3
67 of 461
none open now
Registered
289th of 461
by date

Among the 461 studies in Pain with a site in Canada, this one is the 301st largest by enrollment of the 417 interventional ones that give a count, is one of 21 that started in 2017, is one of 67 in phase 3, and was the 289th registered.

Pain

10,060 studies on the registry are indexed under Pain; 1,651 are open to participants now.

Browse Pain studies →

Open to participants now

62 of the 461 studies in Pain with a site in Canada are open now. Recruiting first, the newest first:

57 more — sign in →

All 62 open studies →

A study can be open while its sites in Canada have not opened yet or have stopped. Only those recruiting at a site in Canada →

Who these studies take

Of the 929 Pain studies recruiting now, 384 (41%) set no upper age limit and 434 (47%) stop at 75 or younger; 146 take children under 18; 222 take healthy volunteers.

This study: Up to 72 Hours · all sexes · no healthy volunteers.

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02

Study summary

Background: Even the healthiest infants undergo painful procedures as part of universal medical care. Untreated early pain is associated with heightened pain response during later procedures in infancy and alteration in response to pain in childhood. Oral sucrose is currently considered the standard of care for acute pain relief in infants. Compelling evidence from 57 randomized controlled trials suggests that oral sucrose reduces bio-behavioral pain response. However, recent data examining the influence of oral sucrose on pain-specific brain activity measured using electroencephalogram (EEG) questions the efficacy of this intervention for reducing pain in the infant brain. Evidence supports the effectiveness of breastfeeding as a pain relieving intervention, however, no studies to date have examined the effect of breastfeeding on pain-specific activity in the newborn brain.

Aims: The primary aim of this study is to examine the influence of breastfeeding in comparison to oral sucrose on pain-specific activity in the newborn brain during a heel lance. The secondary aim will be to determine if there is convergence among outcome measures in either of the intervention conditions.

Methods: Utilizing a single blind, randomized controlled trial design, 126 healthy term infants will be recruited within the first two days of life. Infants will be randomized to have a medically indicated heel lance completed in one of two possible conditions: 1) breastfeeding (n = 63) or 2) sucrose in an infant cot (n = 63). Infants will not be eligible for study participation if they show signs of lower limb tissue damage, have had previous surgery or intraventricular hemorrhage, are born to opioid using mothers or with significant genetic disorders, are unable to breastfeed, or have contraindications to sucrose administration. Pain-specific brain activity will be recorded on EEG for the duration of the blood collection. Infant facial response will be video recorded, and heart rate and oxygen saturation will be measured for calculation of Premature Infant Pain Profile-Revised (PIPP-R) Score, a reliable and valid bio-behavioral measure of pain in infants' 26-44 weeks gestational age. For infants randomized to the breastfeeding condition, data collection will begin with recording of a one-minute baseline (BL1). Following this, a non-painful control stimulus will be applied to the infant's foot to capture a baseline response on EEG to a non-painful event. The infant will then be transferred to the mother and active breastfeeding will be facilitated. A second baseline (BL2) will be recorded prior to heel lance. Pain response will be recorded from the initiation of the heel lance until procedure completion. In the sucrose condition, all monitoring will take place while the infant is in a cot (considered standard of care). Procedures will be consistent with those outlined above with the exception of administration of 24% oral sucrose two minutes prior to the heel lance. Analysis and inference will be calculated based on the intention-to-treat principle. Data from the EEG recording will be grouped into basic waveforms using principal component analysis. Two one-way analysis of variances will be used to assess the effect of stimulation type (non-painful control, painful heel lance) and treatment (24% oral sucrose, breastfeeding) on the principal components. To assess for the effect of treatment on PIPP-R score, group means will be compared using unpaired Student's t-tests.

Hypotheses: Infants in the breastfeeding condition will demonstrate both lower pain-specific brain response and lower bio-behavioral pain scores than infants in the sucrose condition.

Significance: This will be the first study to examine the effect of breastfeeding on pain-specific brain response in infants. In light of the negative consequences of unmanaged pain in infants, it is imperative that effective pain relieving interventions are utilized. Given recent evidence questioning the analgesic properties of sucrose, findings will have important implications for informing optimal pain management practices in infants.

03

Conditions studied

  • Pain
  • Neonatal

Keywords

  • Neonatal pain
  • Pediatric pain
  • Pain assessment
  • Breastfeeding
  • Sucrose
  • Randomized controlled trial
  • Behavioural pain response
  • Neurophysiological pain response
04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
Up to 72 Hours
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Healthy, full term, normally breastfeeding infants, whose mother is willing to breastfeed during the painful procedure and consents to study participation. Normally breastfeeding infants will be defined as those infants who had fed directly at the breast a minimum of two times in the 24-hours prior to blood collection and whose mother and/or staff nurse reported active sucking and swallowing during those feeds. Infants who have undergone repeated heel lancing for blood glucose and/or monitoring (e.g., small or large for gestational age infants, infants born to diabetic mothers, or with hyperbilirubinemia) will be considered eligible, however, diagnosis and the number of prior painful procedures will be recorded and retained for statistical analysis.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Infants will not be eligible for study participation if they are a twin birth (including all classifications of monozygotic and dizygotic twins) due to the potential for non-independence of outcomes between twin pairs, show signs of infection, significant lower limb tissue damage, have had previous surgery or intra-ventricular hemorrhage, are born to opioid using mothers or with significant genetic disorders, are unable to breastfeed or have to sucrose administration, or whose parents are unable to provide written .
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(3)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Bilirubin

A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.

Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
39 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Breastfeeding

    Other: Breastfeeding

  • Active comparator
    24% oral sucrose

    Drug: 24% oral sucrose

Interventions

  • OtherBreastfeeding

    Infants will be placed in skin-to-skin contact with their mother at least five minutes prior to heel lance to allow time to settle and initiate breastfeeding. Breastfeeding position will be determined based on individual maternal preference in order to optimize feeding as well as to facilitate ease of access to the infant's foot for blood collection, while also attempting to minimize disruption of continuous EEG, heart rate, oxygen saturation, and video recording. Active breastfeeding will be facilitated to ensure it takes place for a minimum of two minutes prior to heel lance, and will continue until the procedure is completed.

  • Administration of 24 percent oral sucrose will occur two minutes prior to the heel lance. Non-nutritive sucking will be offered using a gloved finger or pacifier (based on parental preference) immediately following administration of the complete 24 percent oral sucrose dose.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Pain-specific event related potential

    The primary outcome measure will be pain-specific brain activity measured using a dense array neonatal electroencephalogram (EEG) recording that is time-locked to a medically required heel lance. Infant EEG activity will be recorded from a HydroCel Geodesic Sensor Net positioned according to the modified international 10/20 electrode placement system on a 128 Channel Geodesic EEG SystemTM 400 MR series (Electrical Geodesics Incorporated, Eugene, Oregon, USA). Pain-specific event related potentials will specifically be examined and isolated at electrode sites Cz, as previous research has reported pain-specific activity at this site in both infants and adults.

    Time frame: Isolated within the one-minute window post-procedure.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Premature Infant Pain Profile-Revised

    The PIPP-R, which has been revised from the original PIPP developed 14 years ago, is a 7-indicator composite pain measure consisting of 3 behavioural (facial actions: brow bulge, eye squeeze, and naso-labial furrow), 2 physiological (heart rate, oxygen saturation) and 2 contextual (gestational age, behavioural state) indicators of acute pain. A numerical score ranging from 0 - 3 is assigned to each indicator for a maximum score of 18 reflecting the worst possible pain in infants born at greater than 36 weeks' gestational age. A score of 6 or less is considered to indicate minimal or no pain, a score of 6 to 12 indicates mild or moderate pain, and a score of 12 or greater indicates moderate to severe pain.

    Time frame: Baseline, 30, 60, 90, 120 seconds post-procedure.

  2. Recovery

    Time to recovery will be considered the amount of time in seconds that elapses until the infant's heart rate returns to baseline average values. The point at which the infant's heart rate reaches baseline levels and is sustained for no less than five to seven beats following the heel lance will indicate recovery.

    Time frame: In the 30 minute window post-procedure.

  3. Maternal acceptability

    Mothers will be asked to complete an open-ended questionnaire with 3-5 questions (depending on assigned condition) following completion of the study procedures. This questionnaire will focus on assessing maternal acceptability of the use of the assigned breastfeeding or sweet taste intervention as well as the use of neurophysiological imaging technology to measure newborn pain responding in the neonatal period.

    Time frame: Immediately post-procedure.

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Britney Benoit
    Halifax, Nova Scotia B3K6R8, Canada
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Benoit B, Newman A, Martin-Misener R, Latimer M, Campbell-Yeo M. The influence of breastfeeding on cortical and bio-behavioural indicators of procedural pain in newborns: Findings of a randomized controlled trial. Early Hum Dev. 2021 Mar;154:105308. doi: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2021.105308. Epub 2021 Jan 12. PubMed 33513546 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Ran from Nov 2017 to primary completion in Jan 2019, 14 months.

Of 110 non-industry phase 3 interventional studies under Pain, half reached primary completion within 30 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 14 and three quarters within 50. This study's 14 months is below that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 215 studies reached it within 18 months; a quarter within 9 and three quarters within 38.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Aug 31, 2017
First posted
Sep 5, 2017
StartActual
Nov 29, 2017
Primary completionActual
Jan 29, 2019
CompletionActual
Jan 29, 2019
Last update
Nov 8, 2019
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Nov 8, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03272594
Lead sponsor
Britney Benoit
Collaborators
Dalhousie University, IWK Health Centre
Responsible party
Britney Benoit (Doctoral Candidate, Dalhousie University School of Nursing, IWK Health Centre) — Sponsor-investigator
First posted
Sep 5, 2017
Start date
Nov 29, 2017
Primary completion
Jan 29, 2019
Completion
Jan 29, 2019
Last update
Nov 8, 2019

Study contacts

Britney L Benoit, MScN RN PhD(c)
principal investigator · Dalhousie University & IWK Health Centre

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Nov 2019. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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