American journal of perinatology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Neurobehavior of preterm infants at 36 weeks postconception as a function of morphine analgesia.
This study evaluated early neurobehavioral outcomes in ventilated preterm infants randomized to receive morphine analgesia or placebo in the Neurological Outcomes and Pre-emptive Analgesia in Neonates (NEOPAIN) trial. Eight hundred and ninety-eight infants between 23 and 32 weeks of gestation were randomized to receive preemptive morphine analgesia (morphine) or placebo. Infants also received additional analgesia (AA) with open-label morphine. ⋯ AA use was associated with lower (mean +/- SD) MOTOR scores in the morphine group (48.2 +/- 16.1 versus 52.7 +/- 19.1; P = 0.03) and with lower POPLITEAL ANGLE cluster scores in both the morphine group (41.5 +/- 34.0 versus 59.5 +/- 30.1; P < 0.0001) and the placebo group (40.8 +/- 36.8 versus 49.4 +/- 28.0; P = 0.004). No differences were noted in the other NAPI subscales cluster scores in either subgroup. We conclude that morphine analgesia may result in subtle neurobehavioral differences in premature infants.