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ContextLaryngoscopy is frequently required in neonatal intensive care. Awake laryngoscopy has deleterious effects but practice remains heterogeneous regarding premedication use. The goal of this statement was to provide evidence-based good practice guidance for clinicians regarding premedication before tracheal intubation, less invasive surfactant administration (LISA) and laryngeal mask insertion in neonates.MethodsA group of experts brought together by the French Society of Neonatology (SFN) addressed 4 fields related to premedication before upper airway access in neonates: (1) tracheal intubation; (2) less invasive surfactant administration; (3) laryngeal mask insertion; (4) use of atropine for the 3 previous procedures. Evidence was gathered and assessed on predefined questions related to these fields. Consensual statements were issued using the GRADE methodology.ResultsAmong the 15 formalized good practice statements, 2 were strong recommendations to do (Grade 1+) or not to do (Grade 1−), and 4 were discretionary recommendations to do (Grade 2+). For 9 good practice statements, the GRADE method could not be applied, resulting in an expert opinion. For tracheal intubation premedication was considered mandatory except for life-threatening situations (Grade 1+). Recommended premedications were a combination of opioid + muscle blocker (Grade 2+) or propofol in the absence of hemodynamic compromise or hypotension (Grade 2+) while the use of a sole opioid was discouraged (Grade 1−). Statements regarding other molecules before tracheal intubation were expert opinions. For LISA premedication was recommended (Grade 2+) with the use of propofol (Grade 2+). Statements regarding other molecules before LISA were expert opinions. For laryngeal mask insertion and atropine use, no specific data was found and expert opinions were provided.ConclusionThis statement should help clinical decision regarding premedication before neonatal upper airway access and favor standardization of practices.

Objectives: No consensus exists about the doses of analgesics, sedatives, anesthetics, and paralytics used in critically ill neonates. Large-scale, detailed pharmacoepidemiologic studies of prescription practices are a prerequisite to future research. This study aimed to describe the detailed prescriptions of these drug classes in neonates hospitalized in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) from computerized prescription records and to compare prescriptions by gestational age.Materials and Methods: We included all neonates requiring intensive care in 30 French level III units from 2014 through 2020 with a computerized prescription for an analgesic, sedative, anesthetic, or paralytic agent. We described frequencies of prescription, methods of administration, concomitant drug prescriptions, and dosing regimen, and compared them across gestational ages.Results: Among 65,555 neonates, 29,340 (44.8%) were prescribed at least one analgesic (acetaminophen in 37.2% and opioids in 17.8%), sedative (9.8%), anesthetic (8.5%), and/or paralytic agent (1%). Among preterm infants born before 28 weeks, 3,771/4,283 (88.0%) were prescribed at least one of these agents: 69.7% opioids, 41.2% sedatives, 32.5% anesthetics, and 5.8% paralytics. The most frequently prescribed agents were sufentanil (in 10.3% of neonates) and morphine (in 8.0% of neonates) for opioids, midazolam (9.3%) for sedatives, ketamine (5.7%) and propofol (3.3%) for anesthetics. In most neonates, opioids and sedatives were prescribed as continuous infusion, whereas anesthetics were prescribed as single doses. Opioids, sedatives and paralytics were mostly prescribed in association with another agent. Doses varied significantly by gestational age but within a limited range. Gestational age was inversely related to the frequency, cumulative dose and duration of prescriptions. For example, morphine prescriptions showed median (IQR) cumulative doses of 2601 (848–6750) vs. 934 (434–2679) µg/kg and median (IQR) durations of 7 (3–15) vs. 3 (2–5) days in infants born p-valueConclusion: The prescriptions of analgesic, sedative, anesthetic, or paralytic agent were frequent and often combined in the NICU. Lower gestational age was associated with higher frequencies, longer durations and higher cumulative doses of these prescriptions. Dose-finding studies to determine individualized dosing regimens and studies on long-term neurodevelopmental outcome according to received cumulative doses are required.

Introduction: Vancomycin remains the reference antibiotic in neonates for care-related infections caused by ß-lactam–resistant Gram-positive bacteria. Achieving the optimal serum vancomycin level is challenging because of high inter-individual variability and the drug's narrow therapeutic window. Continuous infusion might offer pharmacokinetic and practical advantages, but we lack consensus on the dosing regimen. The aim was to determine the proportion of neonates achieving an optimal therapeutic vancomycin level at the first vancomycin concentration assay and which dosing regimen is the most suitable for neonates.Methods: All neonates receiving continuous-infusion vancomycin (loading dose 15 mg/kg and maintenance dose 30 mg/kg/d) in a neonatal intensive care unit were retrospectively analyzed. The proportion of neonates reaching the target serum vancomycin level was calculated. After reviewing the literature to identify all published articles proposing a dosing regimen for continuous-infusion vancomycin for neonates, regimens were theoretically applied to our population by using maintenance doses according to covariate(s) proposed in the original publication.Results: Between January 2013 and December 2014, 75 neonates received 91 vancomycin courses by continuous infusion. Median gestational age, birth weight, and postnatal age were 27 weeks (interquartile range 26–30.5), 815 g (685–1,240), and 15 days (9–33). At the first assay, only 28/91 (30.8%) courses resulted in vancomycin levels between 20 and 30 mg/L (target level), 23/91 (25.3%) >30 mg/L and 40/91 (43.9%)