The Effect on Pain of Buzzy® and ShotBlocker® during the Administration of Intramuscular Injections to Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose: To investigate the effect of $Buzzy^{(R)}$ and $ShotBlocker^{(R)}$ on reducing pain induced by intramuscular penicillin injections in children. Methods: This was a randomized controlled study. A total of 150 Turkish children aged 7~12 years who presented to our pediatric emergency clinic and met the inclusion criteria were recruited. The children were randomly assigned to each group (control=50, $Buzzy^{(R)}=50$, $ShotBlocker^{(R)}=50$). Data were collected using an information form, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, Visual Analog Scale, and Faces Pain Scale-Revised. Results: The children in the control group had significantly higher pain scores during the penicillin injection than the children in the $ShotBlocker^{(R)}$ and $Buzzy^{(R)}$ groups. The children in the $Buzzy^{(R)}$ group had significantly less pain than the children in both the $ShotBlocker^{(R)}$ and control groups (p<.001). Conclusion: $Buzzy^{(R)}$ was more effective compared with $ShotBlocker^{(R)}$ in this study.