Sucrose
Place in Therapy
Place in Therapy
Sucrose is a disaccharide that is considered safe to use in infants. Certain studies have shown that
sucrose is effective in calming crying infants or soothing pain in infants (1,2,3). The soothing effective maybe
due to the “sweetness” or the action on the opioid centre (2,4,5) . Interestingly, the sucrose effect is only
observed in first 6 weeks of an infant’s life (3,5) . Sucrose is more effective in calming non-colic infants than
colic infants (1) . Most studies have shown a positive effective for 3 to 30 minutes after administration (5) .
Due to the limitations in all studies, more research needs to done to confirm effectiveness. However,
there are no noted adverse effects with sucrose use in infants and it is a safe option for infant colic.
References:
1. Barr RG. Young SN, Wright JH, Gravel R and Alkawaf R. Differential Calming Responses to
Sucrose Taste in Crying Infants With and Without Colic. Pediatrics; 1999;103(5): 1-9
2. Barr RG, Pantel MS, Young, SN, Wright JH, Hendricks LA and Gravel R. The Response of Crying
Newborns to Sucrose: Is it a “Sweetness” Effect? Physiology & Behavior 1999; 66(3): 409-417
3. Perry R, Hunt K and Ernst E. Nutritional Supplements and other Complementary Medicines for
Infantile Colic: A Systematic Review Pediatrics; 2011: 127 (4): 720-733
4. The Joanna Briggs Institute, The effectiveness of interventions for infant colic. Best Practice;
2008:12(6)
5. Walker WA, Kleinman RE, Sherman PM, Schneider BL and Sanderson IR. (2004) Pediatric
Gastrointestinal Disease: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, Management: Volume 1, 4th ed Hamilton,
Ontario, BC Decker pp.217-219
6. Natus, Pediatric and Newborn Care: TootSweet, retrieved on 17th July, 2013
http://www.natus.com/index.cfm?page=products_1&crid=405&contentid=515.
7. Health Canada Licensed Natural Health Product Database. Retrieved 17th July 2013
http://webprod3.hc-sc.gc.ca/lnhpd-bdpsnh/start-debuter.do?lang=eng.
Sucrose is a disaccharide that is considered safe to use in infants. Certain studies have shown that
sucrose is effective in calming crying infants or soothing pain in infants (1,2,3). The soothing effective maybe
due to the “sweetness” or the action on the opioid centre (2,4,5) . Interestingly, the sucrose effect is only
observed in first 6 weeks of an infant’s life (3,5) . Sucrose is more effective in calming non-colic infants than
colic infants (1) . Most studies have shown a positive effective for 3 to 30 minutes after administration (5) .
Due to the limitations in all studies, more research needs to done to confirm effectiveness. However,
there are no noted adverse effects with sucrose use in infants and it is a safe option for infant colic.
References:
1. Barr RG. Young SN, Wright JH, Gravel R and Alkawaf R. Differential Calming Responses to
Sucrose Taste in Crying Infants With and Without Colic. Pediatrics; 1999;103(5): 1-9
2. Barr RG, Pantel MS, Young, SN, Wright JH, Hendricks LA and Gravel R. The Response of Crying
Newborns to Sucrose: Is it a “Sweetness” Effect? Physiology & Behavior 1999; 66(3): 409-417
3. Perry R, Hunt K and Ernst E. Nutritional Supplements and other Complementary Medicines for
Infantile Colic: A Systematic Review Pediatrics; 2011: 127 (4): 720-733
4. The Joanna Briggs Institute, The effectiveness of interventions for infant colic. Best Practice;
2008:12(6)
5. Walker WA, Kleinman RE, Sherman PM, Schneider BL and Sanderson IR. (2004) Pediatric
Gastrointestinal Disease: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, Management: Volume 1, 4th ed Hamilton,
Ontario, BC Decker pp.217-219
6. Natus, Pediatric and Newborn Care: TootSweet, retrieved on 17th July, 2013
http://www.natus.com/index.cfm?page=products_1&crid=405&contentid=515.
7. Health Canada Licensed Natural Health Product Database. Retrieved 17th July 2013
http://webprod3.hc-sc.gc.ca/lnhpd-bdpsnh/start-debuter.do?lang=eng.