[A survey on premedication prior to intubation in very preterm infants (28-32WG) with respiratory distress syndrome in French neonatal intensive care units]

Neurodevelopmental Outcomes after Premedication with Atropine/Propofol vs Atropine/Atracurium/Sufentanil for Neonatal Intubation: 2-Year Follow-Up of a Randomized Clinical Trial

This study followed 173 newborn infants in the PREmedication Trial for Tracheal Intubation of the NEOnate multicenter, double-blind, randomized controlled trial of atropine-propofol vs atropine-atracurium-sufentanil for premedication before nonemergency intubation. At 2 years of corrected age, there was no significant difference between the groups in death or risk of neurodevelopmental delay assessed with the Ages and Stages Questionnaire. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01490580.

A survey of procedural pain assessment and non-pharmacologic analgesic interventions in neonates in Spanish public maternity units

OBJECTIVE

To qualify and quantify clinical practices related to pain assessment and non-pharmacologic analgesia (NPA) in newborns in Spanish public maternity hospitals STUDY DESIGN: We surveyed providers online regarding their use of pain assessment scales, NPA interventions in neonates undergoing procedures, as well parents' presence or absence during interventions.

RESULTS

The number of painful procedures and the subjective grading of pain from the responding physicians were similar in all hospitals. Only 12.5% of hospitals used pain scales. No NPA was employed in 37.7% of procedures, with less NPA used in the lower complexity hospitals for venous extraction (p < 0.001) and gastric lavage (p = 0.001). Respondents reported parents' absence during 56.1% of procedures.

CONCLUSIONS

Available pain assessment scales and NPA interventions to mitigate pain are being underused. The presence of the parents during painful interventions is low despite the evidence that this may help to reduce newborns' perception of pain.