Non-pharmacological pediatric needle pain relief using buzzy device

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Created On: 12/02/2026

Needle-related procedures are a major cause of procedural pain, fear, and anxiety in children, making effective pediatric needle pain management a clinical priority.

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Key take away

Buzzy device reduces needle-related procedural pain in children, offering rapid, drug-free analgesia that is especially beneficial in acute and emergency care settings.

Background

Needle-related procedures are a major cause of procedural pain, fear, and anxiety in children, making effective pediatric needle pain management a clinical priority. The Buzzy device, a drug-free pain relief tool that combines cold application and vibration, has emerged as a practical intervention for decreasing needle pain in pediatric patients. This systematic review explored the usefulness of the Buzzy device via a standardized pain assessment instrument.

Method

A systematic literature search was carried out across PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, and Google Scholar to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Included studies involved children aged 2–18 years undergoing injections, venipuncture, or other needle procedures, with pain measured via the Faces Pain Scale–Revised (FPS-R). Outcomes with the Buzzy device were compared against no intervention, topical anesthetics (e.g. eutectic mixture of local anesthetics [EMLA]), and alternative non-pharmacological pain management techniques, including distraction-based interventions.

Result

Eight RCTs encompassing 1,569 pediatric participants were included. The Buzzy® device consistently produced clinically meaningful reductions in needle-related pain compared with control conditions. When compared with topical anesthetic creams, results were mixed: topical agents generally provided greater pain attenuation, whereas Buzzy delivered immediate analgesic effects, offering a distinct advantage in emergency departments and high-throughput clinical settings. Notably, Buzzy portrayed superior pain control when compared to other non-pharmacological devices and achieved the greatest benefit when combined with active distraction techniques. Overall, studies exhibited a moderate risk of bias.

Conclusion

Buzzy device proved to be an effective, fast-acting, non-pharmacological option for alleviating pediatric needle pain, particularly in acute and emergency care environments. These findings reinforce the role of multimodal, drug-free pain management strategies in pediatric practice.