Table 1.
Opioid use during mechanical ventilation in infants <32 weeks' GA in England and Wales (2012–2020).
| All infants n = 67,206 | <28 weeks' GA n = 21,043 | 28–31 weeks' GA n = 46,163 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical ventilation | |||
| Received any MV, n (%) | 45,193 (67.2) | 20,222 (96.1) | 24,971 (54.1) |
| MV on day of birth, n (%) | 38,166 (56.8) | 18,827 (89.5) | 19,339 (41.9) |
| MV for >2 consecutive days at least once, n (%) | 24,815 (36.9) | 15,477 (73.5) | 9338 (20.2) |
| Number of days of MV, median (IQR) | 4 (2–12) | 11 (4–27) | 2 (1–4) |
| Length (days) of longest continuous course of MV, median (IQR) | 3 (2–8) | 7 (3–19) | 2 (1–4) |
| Use of opioids | |||
| Any opioids, n (%) | 26,900 (40.0) | 14,675 (69.7) | 12,225 (26.5) |
| Any morphine, n (%) | 25,780 (38.4) | 14,418 (68.5) | 11,362 (24.6) |
| IV morphine, n (%) | 25,594 (38.1) | 14,294 (67.9) | 11,300 (24.5) |
| Oral morphine, n (%) | 3199 (4.8) | 2761 (13.1) | 438 (0.9) |
| Fentanyl, n (%) | 5050 (7.5) | 2736 (13.0) | 2314 (5.0) |
| Cumulative days of opioid exposure, median (IQR) | 4 (2–12) | 8 (3–21) | 2 (1–5) |
| Cumulative days of morphine exposure, median (IQR) | 5 (2–13) | 8 (3–21) | 3 (1–5) |
| Cumulative days of fentanyl exposure, median (IQR) | 1 (1–2) | 1 (1–2) | 1 (1–1) |
| Opioids while on MV | |||
| Received any opioid, n (%) | 26,201 (58.0) | 14,536 (71.9) | 11,665 (46.7) |
| Received morphine, n (%) | 25,274 (55.9) | 14,292 (70.7) | 10,982 (44.0) |
| Received fentanyl, n (%) | 4723 (10.5) | 2642 (13.1) | 2081 (8.3) |
| % of MV days any opioid received, median (IQR) | 66.7 (42.9–91.7) | 63.6 (36.4–85.7) | 71.4 (50.0–100.0) |
| % of MV days morphine received, median (IQR) | 66.7 (42.9–90.9) | 63.3 (36.6–85.7) | 71.4 (50.0–100.0) |
| % of MV days fentanyl received, median (IQR) | 13.6 (5.5–33.3) | 6.9 (3.6–14.3) | 33.3 (16.7–50.0) |
GA, gestational age; IQR, inter-quartile range; IV, intravenous; MV, mechanical ventilation.