International journal of pediatrics
Neonatal Pain Assessment After Night Shifts in NICU Professionals: A Within-Subject Exploratory Eye-Tracking Study
By Deindl P, Luister A, Vettorazzi E and 8 others.
Abstract
Background
Night-shift work may influence attention and emotion processing, potentially affecting clinical assessment. We investigated whether neonatal pain evaluation and associated visual-attentional and pupillary responses differed between rested and post-night-shift assessments in experienced NICU professionals.
Methods
In this prospective within-subject study, 20 NICU professionals evaluated 42 standardized video clips of term neonates exposed to nonnoxious, short noxious, or prolonged noxious stimuli. Participants were assessed after at least 1 day off work and within 2 h after completing one or more consecutive night shifts. Pain ratings, eye-tracking metrics, and pupil diameter were compared between conditions.