©Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2026. No commercial re-use. See Permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Clin Pediatr. Mar 9, 2026; 15(1): 111388
Published online Mar 9, 2026. doi: 10.5409/wjcp.v15.i1.111388
Published online Mar 9, 2026. doi: 10.5409/wjcp.v15.i1.111388
Multimodal distraction reduces intravenous cannulation pain and anxiety in preschoolers: Controlled prospective study
Leana Phebe Wilson, Department of Pediatric Nursing, NAMO College of Nursing, Silvassa 396230, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, India
Zubair Khan, Pushparaj Nilkanth Patil, Department of Pediatrics, NAMO Medical Education and Research Institute, Silvassa 396230, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, India
Rajesh G Konnur, DEAN, Kurji Holy Family Hospital College of Nursing, Patna 800010, Bihar, India
Nagarajan Sriram, Department of Vice Principle, NAMO College of Nursing, Silvassa 396230, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, India
Author contributions: Wilson LP and Khan Z conducted data collection and participant recruitment; Wilson LP and Patil PN drafted the manuscript; Patil PN conceptualized and designed the study; Konnur RG and Sriram N performed data analysis and interpretation; all authors approved the final version for submission.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of NAMO Medical Education and Research Institute and Shri Vinoba Bhave Civil Hospital (No. DMHS/IEC/2016/214/3953).
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardians, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest related to the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation of results, or writing of this manuscript.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement – checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement – checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: Technical appendix, statistical code, and dataset are available from the corresponding author at piyush.patil05@gmail.com . Participants gave informed consent for data sharing.
Corresponding author: Pushparaj Nilkanth Patil, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, NAMO Medical Education and Research Institute, Sayali Road, Silvassa 396230, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, India. piyush.patil05@gmail.com
Received: July 1, 2025
Revised: July 27, 2025
Accepted: October 29, 2025
Published online: March 9, 2026
Processing time: 251 Days and 3.9 Hours
Revised: July 27, 2025
Accepted: October 29, 2025
Published online: March 9, 2026
Processing time: 251 Days and 3.9 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study highlights the effectiveness of a low-cost, multimodal distraction approach – combining balloon blowing, art therapy, and kaleidoscope use – in reducing pain and anxiety among preschool children undergoing intravenous therapy. Using validated tools like the Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale and Visual Analogue Anxiety Scale, the intervention showed significant impact. It offers a scalable, nurse-led solution for procedural pain management in low-resource settings, where expensive technologies like virtual reality are often impractical.