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. 2021 Mar 17;2021(3):CD013732. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013732.pub2

Summary of findings 4. Morphine compared to diamorphine for neonates receiving mechanical ventilation.

Morphine compared to diamorphine for neonates receiving mechanical ventilation
Patient or population: neonates receiving mechanical ventilation
Setting: neonatal intensive care unit in the UK (Wood 1998)
Intervention: morphine
Comparison: diamorphine
Outcomes Anticipated absolute effects* (95% CI) Relative effect
(95% CI) №. of participants
(studies) Certainty of the evidence
(GRADE) Comments
Risk with diamorphine Risk with morphine
Pain (PIPP)  See comment See comment Not estimable Not reported Not estimable None of the studies reported on this outcome
Duration of mechanical ventilation (days) See comment See comment Not estimable Not reported Not estimable None of the studies reported on this outcome
Neonatal mortality Study population RR 1.17
(0.43 to 3.19) 88
(1 RCT) ⊕⊝⊝⊝
VERY LOW Serious imprecision of the estimatesa and indirectness
136 per 1000 160 per 1000
(59 to 435)
Mortality before discharge See comment See comment Not estimable Not reported Not estimable None of the studies reported on this outcome
Neurodevelopmental outcomes (18 to 24 months) See comment See comment Not estimable Not reported Not estimable None of the studies reported on this outcome
Neurodevelopmental outcomes (3 to 5 years) See comment See comment Not estimable Not reported Not estimable None of the studies reported on this outcome
Neurodevelopmental outcomes (5 to 6 years) See comment See comment Not estimable Not reported Not estimable None of the studies reported on this outcome
*The risk in the intervention group (and its 95% confidence interval) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI).
CI: confidence interval; PIPP: Premature Infant Pain Profile; RCT: randomised controlled trial; RR: risk ratio. 
GRADE Working Group grades of evidence.High certainty: we are very confident that the true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect.
Moderate certainty: we are moderately confident in the effect estimate: the true effect is likely to be close to the estimate of the effect, but there is a possibility that it is substantially different.
Low certainty: our confidence in the effect estimate is limited: the true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of the effect.
Very low certainty: we have very little confidence in the effect estimate: the true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of effect.

aFor "serious imprecision", downgraded by two levels.