Aim
Needle‐related procedures can be painful for children, and distraction provides ideal pain relief in blood‐drawing centres. This study assessed the effectiveness of playing a computer game during venipuncture, compared with low‐tech distraction by a nurse.
Methods
We conducted this prospective, randomised controlled trial at the blood‐drawing centre of a tertiary‐level children's hospital in Italy. Half of the 200 children played Angry Birds on a hand‐held computer while the other half were distracted by a second, specifically trained nurse who sang to them, read a book, blew bubbles or played with puppets. Pain was measured using a faces pain scale for children aged 4–7 years and a numeric scale for children aged 8–13 years.
Results
The 200 children had a median age of eight years. Children reported significant pain in 16 cases (16%) in the hand‐held computer distraction group and in 15 cases (15%) in the nurse‐led low‐tech distraction group (p = 0.85). The procedural success rate at the first attempt was not different in the two groups.
Conclusion
Playing a game on a hand‐held computer meant that only one in six children reported pain during venipuncture, but it was not superior to being distracted by nurses.