A protocol to develop a standard guideline for neonatal pain management

Abstract

Background: Hospitalized newborns experience a high frequency of painful procedures. Undertreated pain has a series of adverse physical and psychosocial effects on newborns. Guidelines successfully applied in clinical practice can effectively improve pain management in NICUs and reduce the incidence of pain. Neonatal care providers in China are in urgent need of a high-quality, evidence-based guideline for the treatment and management of neonatal pain. The National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders is leading the development of a standard guideline for neonatal pain management suitable for the medical environment in China providing empirical support and safety guarantees for clinical practice. The WHO Collaborating Centre for Guideline Implementation and Knowledge Translation will provide technical support and guidance. The purpose of this paper is to outline the detailed methodology and technical route of guideline development. Methods: We will follow the WHO principles and methods for the formulation of standard guidelines. The critical steps for developing the guideline are as follows: (I) definition of the guideline Scope; (II) establishment of guideline working groups; (III) selection of the clinical questions; (IV) performance of systematic reviews; (V) grading the quality of the body of evidence; and (VI) formulating recommendations and reaching consensus. Discussion: This protocol would ensure that the process of guideline development is normative, scientific, and transparent. The standard guideline for neonatal pain management based on the available high-quality evidence and tailored to the Chinese health care system will help neonatal caregivers in NICUs effectively manage neonatal pain.

Knowledge and Practice of Neonatal Pain Management and Associated Factors among Health Care Providers in Neonatal Intensive Care Units of Public Hospitals in North Shoa Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia, 2023

“…In this study, about 5.7% of health professionals had good neonatal management practice with CI (1.6–10.6) which is lower than a study performed in Rwanda and West Ormia (15.2%) and 32.2% of health providers have good neonatal pain management practice, respectively [ 9 , 18 ]. The possible justification for this discrepancy could be due to the variation in study settings and the use of modified tools from these studies.…”

“…Regarding pain management practices, only 13.8% practiced breastfeeding to relieve pain, 9.7% of them never practiced, and sucrose/glucose was never practiced to relieve pain in 34.14% of health care providers as well they never prescribed opioids when necessary to relieve pain in 30.4%, indicating that there is a low practice of both nonmedication and medication use to relieve neonatal pain which is comparable to a study performed in West Oromia [ 18 ]. The observed patterns may be indicative of a broader issue, such as a lack of awareness, training, or institutional protocols, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions and education to enhance neonatal pain management practices among health care providers.…”

How Useful? Fish-Friendly Irrigation Guidelines for the Lower Mekong Lack Definition in Five Key Areas

“…GLs are a ubiquitous communication tool (Kaiser et al 2022 ; Valentine 2017 ), often constituted of expert consensus reports of best practise (Shaneyfelt and Centor 2009 ). They aim to provide standardised, evidence-based advice by which decision-makers can determine the course and nature of action (Shen et al 2021 ). Various guideline attributes including recency (del Mar Seguí et al 2011 ) and scope (O’Connell et al 2016 ) can influence guideline impact on practice.…”