Aim: This descriptive study was conducted to evaluate chronic pain in premature infants on invasive and noninvasive mechanical ventilation.

Material and Methods: The sample of this study consisted of 110 premature infants with a gestational age of ≥25 weeks and ≤36 weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Data were collected between February 2018 and April 2019 with the Descriptive Information Form to determine the infants' characteristics and the Newborn Pain and Discomfort Scale (EDIN). The data were analyzed with tests suitable for normal distribution, and the significance level was accepted as p <.05.

Results: It was determined that the average total pain score of premature infants from the EDIN scale was 5.43 ± 1.86, and 35.5% of them experienced pain (> 6 points). It was found that the chronic pain scores increased as the length of hospital stay and the duration of mechanical ventilation increased in premature infants who were applied mechanical ventilation (p <.05). It was determined that the average chronic pain score was higher in infants with a risk of impaired skin integrity (p <.01).

Conclusions: It has been recommended to give importance to skin assessment of premature infants receiving mechanical ventilation, to perform routine pain assessment, and to take measures to reduce pain in infants whose duration of stay on mechanical ventilation exceeds five days.