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Aim: Continuous pain occurs routinely, even after invasive procedures, or inflammation and surgery, but clinical practices associated with assessments of continuous pain remain unknown.Methods: A prospective cohort study in 243 neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) from 18 European countries recorded the frequency of pain assessments, use of mechanical ventilation, sedation, analgesia or neuromuscular blockade for each neonate for up to 28 days after NICU admission.Results: Only 2113 of 6648 (31.8%) of neonates received assessments of continuous pain, occurring variably among tracheal ventilation (TrV, 46.0%), noninvasive ventilation (NiV, 35.0%) and no ventilation (NoV, 20.1%) groups (p < 0.001). Daily assessments for continuous pain occurred in only 10.4% of all neonates (TrV: 14.0%, NiV: 10.7%, NoV: 7.6%; p < 0.001). More frequent assessments of continuous pain occurred in NICUs with pain guidelines, nursing champions and surgical admissions (all p < 0.01), and for newborns <32 weeks gestational age, those requiring ventilation, or opioids, sedatives-hypnotics, general anaesthetics (O-SH-GA) (all p < 0.001), or surgery (p = 0.028). Use of O-SH-GA drugs increased the odds for pain assessment in the TrV (OR:1.60, p < 0.001) and NiV groups (OR:1.40, p < 0.001).Conclusion: Assessments of continuous pain occurred in less than one-third of NICU admissions and daily in only 10% of neonates. NICU clinical practices should consider including routine assessments of continuous pain in newborns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We aimed to examine current bedside analgesia/sedation (A/S) and pain assessment (PA) practices in Italian neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in relation to the findings of an epidemiological European study and recently-introduced national guidelines. Methods: We analyzed the Italian data from the EUROPAIN (EUROpean-Pain-Audit-In-Neonates) prospective observational study on A/S practices that involved 6680 newborns admitted to tertiary-level NICUs in 18 European countries. Demographics, type of assisted ventilation, type and mode of A/S administration and PA were analyzed. Multivariate linear regression models were used to identify factors predicting A/S and PA practices. Results: From October 1st, 2012 to June 30th, 2013, thirty Italian NICUs gathered data on 422 newborn: 131 on invasive ventilation (IV); 150 on noninvasive ventilation (NIV); and 141 on spontaneous ventilation (SV). A/S was documented for 35.3% of all infants admitted (86.3% IV; 17.3% NIV; 7.1% SV [p = 0.0001]), and varied considerably between NICUs (as reported in other European countries). Strong analgesics were used in 32.5% of cases, sedatives in 10.2%, mild analgesics in 3.8%. Fentanyl was used in 78.6% of cases, morphine in 8.4%, neuromuscular blockers in 5.3%, midazolam in 22.1%. The performance of PA was documented in 67.5% of all newborn (85.5% IV; 67.3% NIV; 51.1% SV [p = 0.001]). Illness severity, type of ventilation, bedside PA, and number of NICU beds were all factors associated with A/S use on multivariate analysis, while gestational age ≤ 32 weeks, and type of ventilation and presence of a pain team were associated with PA. Conclusions: We documented a generally widespread, but still highly variable use of A/S and PA at Italian NICUs, despite the diffusion of national guidelines. There is an urgent need to improve routine PA to enable customized pain and stress control (and prevention) in all infants. Trial registration: Clinical Trials.gov # NCT01694745. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fewer children than adults have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the clinical manifestations are distinct from those of adults. Some children particularly those with acute or chronic co-morbidities are likely to develop critical illness. Recently, a multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) has been described in children with some of these patients requiring care in the pediatric ICU., Methods: An international collaboration was formed to review the available evidence and develop evidence-based guidelines for the care of critically ill children with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Where the evidence was lacking, those gaps were replaced with consensus-based guidelines., Results: This process has generated 44 recommendations related to pediatric COVID-19 patients presenting with respiratory distress or failure, sepsis or septic shock, cardiopulmonary arrest, MIS-C, those requiring adjuvant therapies, or ECMO. Evidence to explain the milder disease patterns in children and the potential to use repurposed anti-viral drugs, anti-inflammatory or anti-thrombotic therapies are also described., Conclusion: Brief summaries of pediatric SARS-CoV-2 infection in different regions of the world are included since few registries are capturing this data globally. These guidelines seek to harmonize the standards and strategies for intensive care that critically ill children with COVID-19 receive across the world., Impact: At the time of publication, this is the latest evidence for managing critically ill children infected with SARS-CoV-2. Referring to these guidelines can decrease the morbidity and potentially the mortality of children effected by COVID-19 and its sequalae. These guidelines can be adapted to both high- and limited-resource settings.

Background: Neonates who are in pain or are stressed during care in the intensive care unit (ICU) are often given sedation or analgesia. We investigated the current use of sedation or analgesia in neonatal ICUs (NICUs) in European countries., Methods: EUROPAIN (EUROpean Pain Audit In Neonates) was a prospective cohort study of the management of sedation and analgesia in patients in NICUs. All neonates admitted to NICUs during 1 month were included in this study. Data on demographics, methods of respiration, use of continuous or intermittent sedation, analgesia, or neuromuscular blockers, pain assessments, and drug withdrawal syndromes were gathered during the first 28 days of admission to NICUs. Multivariable linear regression models and propensity scores were used to assess the association between duration of tracheal ventilation (TV) and exposure to opioids, sedatives-hypnotics, or general anaesthetics in neonates (O-SH-GA). This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01694745., Findings: From Oct 1, 2012, to June 30, 2013, 6680 neonates were enrolled in 243 NICUs in 18 European countries. Mean gestational age of these neonates was 35.0 weeks (SD 4.6) and birthweight was 2384 g (1007). 2142 (32%) neonates were given TV, 1496 (22%) non-invasive ventilation (NIV), and 3042 (46%) were kept on spontaneous ventilation (SV). 1746 (82%), 266 (18%), and 282 (9%) neonates in the TV, NIV, and SV groups, respectively, were given sedation or analgesia as a continuous infusion, intermittent doses, or both (p<0.0001). In the participating NICUs, the median use of sedation or analgesia was 89.3% (70.0-100) for neonates in the TV group. Opioids were given to 1764 (26%) of 6680 neonates and to 1589 (74%) of 2142 neonates in the TV group. Midazolam was given to 576 (9%) of 6680 neonates and 536 (25%) neonates of 2142 neonates in the TV group. 542 (25%) neonates in the TV group were given neuromuscular blockers, which were administered as continuous infusions to 146 (7%) of these neonates. Pain assessments were recorded in 1250 (58%) of 2138, 672 (45%) of 1493, and 916 (30%) of 3017 neonates in the TV, NIV, and SV groups, respectively (p<0.0001). In the univariate analysis, neonates given O-SH-GA in the TV group needed a longer duration of TV than did those who were not given O-SH-GA (mean 136.2 h [SD 173.1] vs 39.8 h [94.7] h; p<0.0001). Multivariable and propensity score analyses confirmed this association (p<0.0001)., Interpretation: Wide variations in sedation and analgesia practices occur between NICUs and countries. Widespread use of O-SH-GA in intubated neonates might prolong their need for mechanical ventilation, but further research is needed to investigate the therapeutic and adverse effects of O-SH-GA in neonates, and to develop new and safe approaches for sedation and analgesia., Funding: European Community's Seventh Framework Programme., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)