Premium
Effects of fentanyl administration on general and cerebral haemodynamics in sick newborn infants
Author(s) -
Hamon I,
Hascoët JM,
Debbiche A,
Vert P
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1996.tb14033.x
Subject(s) - medicine , hemodynamics , fentanyl , anesthesia , cerebral blood flow , blood pressure , gestational age , cerebral autoregulation , mean arterial pressure , heart rate , autoregulation , pregnancy , biology , genetics
Despite the wide use of fentanyl for analgesia in newborns, concerns have been raised about potential haemodynamic side‐effects. Since sick newborns may lose their cerebral blood flow autoregulation, a drug‐induced haemodynamic instability could lead to brain injury. We assessed the effects of a 15‐min infusion of fentanyl (3μg/kg) on the general and cerebral haemodynamics in I5 newborns (median gestational age 29 weeks, 25th–75th percentile, range 28–31 weeks; birthweight 1170 g. range 955–1790 g). The heart rate and mean arterial blood pressure were continuously recorded. Mean cerebral blood flow velocity and pulsatility index were measured using pulsed Doppler ultrasound before, during and up to 60 min after the onset of fentanyl administration. No significant modification of general or cerebral haemodynamics was observed. In conclusion, the infusion or 3μg/kg of fentanyl did not lead to any deleterious effect on the general or cerebral haemodynamics in sick normovolaemic newborns.