Opioids in the Pediatric and Neonatal ICU: Proposal for Tapering Off

Abstract

Opioids are considered one of the mainstays of pain treatment. However, they are not exempted from potential risks, such as withdrawal caused by their rapid decline or abrupt cessation. It is usual to observe a high number of withdrawal cases in clinical practice, especially in special populations such as children and in critically ill patients. Considering the clinical importance of opioids and the permanent search to minimize secondary events related to their use, this update was carried out to review the existing proposals in the literature and suggest a didactic way to perform opioid tapering in pediatric and neonatal population in intensive care units. As a result, the “DESSMONTE” strategy arises, which is an acrostic in Spanish that allows guidance on the eight essential steps for an organized and predictable weaning protocol in critically ill pediatric patients. The strategy is flexible, which would allow it to be adapted to different clinical scenarios.

Keywords

• acute pain
• analgesics opioid
• drug tapering
• intensive care units pediatric
• iatrogenic disease
• intensive care units neonatal
• substance withdrawal syndrome