Buzzy® or Pikluc®? Comparing Pain Relief During Children’s Intramuscular Injections

Posted on 29 December 2026

Study Overview
Intramuscular injections can be painful and distressing for children. Devices that combine distraction, vibration or cooling may offer a simple non-pharmacological way to make the experience more comfortable.
This randomised equivalence trial compared Buzzy® applied for 15 seconds, Pikluc®, and Buzzy® applied for 30 seconds in 170 children aged 1-11 years receiving intramuscular injections at two paediatric emergency units in Brazil.

Key Findings

For children aged 1-3 years, pain relief was equivalent across all three approaches.
This suggests that Pikluc® could be applied immediately and that a shorter 15-second Buzzy® application produced similar pain outcomes to the longer 30-second application in this younger group.
For children aged 4-11 years, self-reported pain did not demonstrate equivalence between the approaches.
Observer and parent assessments also did not always align with children’s own reports, highlighting the importance of considering the child’s voice when evaluating procedural pain.

Implications
Both Buzzy® and Pikluc® may offer practical options for supporting younger children during intramuscular injections.
The differences seen in older children also reinforce that pain is subjective and that self-reported pain should remain an important part of assessment whenever children are able to communicate their experience.

Read more:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmn.2026.03.016

Authors; Jefferson Wildes da Silva Moura; Mari Takashima; Sabrina de Souza; Thiago Lopes Silva; Aline de Souza Bitencourt; Kaili da Silva Medeiros; Henrik Hjelmgren; Luciano Marques Dos Santos; Amanda Ullman; Patrícia Kuerten Rocha

Buzzy® or Pikluc®? Comparing Pain Relief During Children’s Intramuscular Injections

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