Effect of local application of heat upon duration of crying and procedure before heel lancing

Newborns admitted in hospital undergo numerous procedures for various reasons among which heel lancing is the most frequent procedure to get blood samples. This quasi-experimental study aims to assess the effect of heat application upon duration of crying and procedure before heel lancing. Each 60 newborns were selected using non probability sampling technique for study and control group. The study group underwent application of heat ten minutes before heel lancing. Statistically significant differences were observed between groups with respect to gender, frequency of heel lancing, duration of crying and total completion time of the procedure (p>0.05).