The findings from this preliminary study show that transient plantar skin cooling of rat pups with a single application of vapocoolant stream spray is effective and safe. While there are several anatomical and neurobiological parallels between rat pups and human infants, further experiments are needed to ascertain the safety and efficacy of the vapocoolant in response to a range of duration and distance of recommended applications after repeated daily applications to simulate the exposure to heel lances in NICU practice