Sweet tasting solutions for reduction of needle-related procedural pain in children aged one to 16 years

Cochrane extension to children 1-16 years. Across 8 RCTs, sweet solutions showed inconsistent analgesic benefit beyond infancy; effect attenuates rapidly after age 1. Implication: sucrose is not a substitute for other interventions (distraction, topical anaesthetic, parent presence) in toddlers and older children.