Matt Brandon and Kelly Kearns visit their
son, Austin Brandon, in the UK Children’s Hopsital NICU. Austin has been enrolled in
the research study.
See related story in the Dec. 22, 1999,
edition of the Lexington
Herald-Leader. |
LEXINGTON, KY (Dec. 21, 1999) – The
University of Kentucky Children’s Hospital and the UK College of Medicine are
participating in a nationwide study to determine whether a low dose of morphine,
administered continuously, would improve the clinical outcome of premature infants who
require ventilators to help them breathe. Nirmala Desai, M.D., professor, Department of
Pediatrics, division of neonatology, UK College of Medicine, is the principal investigator
for the study at UK. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the UK Children’s
Hospital is the only Kentucky site participating in the nationwide study.
Standard care for adult patients who are on ventilators is to give constant medication
to decrease pain and agitation. However, infants who are on ventilators are not given pain
medicine routinely.
Apart from the desire to reduce the pain felt by premature infants, pain medication
also may improve the infants’ clinical outcome. The UK Children’s Hospital
participated in a preliminary study published in the April 1999 issue of the Archives
of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine that suggested that uncontrolled responses to
pain and stress in premature infants who are struggling or fighting the ventilator may
cause bleeding in their brains, softening of brain tissue, or even death. The incidence of
these poor neurological outcomes was reduced in premature infants who were given pain
medication while on ventilators.
This research study aims to confirm the preliminary results with a large, multicenter
randomized trial. Premature infants who are on ventilators for more than three days and
who are born at less than 32 weeks gestation are eligible to be enrolled in the study.
These infants will be assigned randomly to receive either a constant low-dose of morphine
or placebo. If an infant receiving the placebo exhibits signs of pain or discomfort, the
physicians will administer a dose of morphine.
By Maureen McArthur |
