Continuous-Infusion Vancomycin in Neonates: Assessment of a Dosing Regimen and Therapeutic Proposal

Introduction: Vancomycin remains the reference antibiotic in neonates for care-related infections caused by ß-lactam–resistant Gram-positive bacteria. Achieving the optimal serum vancomycin level is challenging because of high inter-individual variability and the drug's narrow therapeutic window. Continuous infusion might offer pharmacokinetic and practical advantages, but we lack consensus on the dosing regimen. The aim was to determine the proportion of neonates achieving an optimal therapeutic vancomycin level at the first vancomycin concentration assay and which dosing regimen is the most suitable for neonates.Methods: All neonates receiving continuous-infusion vancomycin (loading dose 15 mg/kg and maintenance dose 30 mg/kg/d) in a neonatal intensive care unit were retrospectively analyzed. The proportion of neonates reaching the target serum vancomycin level was calculated. After reviewing the literature to identify all published articles proposing a dosing regimen for continuous-infusion vancomycin for neonates, regimens were theoretically applied to our population by using maintenance doses according to covariate(s) proposed in the original publication.Results: Between January 2013 and December 2014, 75 neonates received 91 vancomycin courses by continuous infusion. Median gestational age, birth weight, and postnatal age were 27 weeks (interquartile range 26–30.5), 815 g (685–1,240), and 15 days (9–33). At the first assay, only 28/91 (30.8%) courses resulted in vancomycin levels between 20 and 30 mg/L (target level), 23/91 (25.3%) >30 mg/L and 40/91 (43.9%) <20 mg/L. We applied six published dosing regimens to our patients. One of these dosing regimens based on corrected gestational age (CGA) and serum creatinine level (SCR) would have allowed us to prescribe lower doses to neonates with high vancomycin levels and higher doses to neonates with low levels.Conclusions: A simplified dosing regimen of continuous-infusion vancomycin did not achieve therapeutic ranges in neonates; a patient-tailored dosing regimen taking into account CGA and SCR level or an individualized pharmacokinetic model can help to anticipate the inter-individual variability in neonates and would have been more suitable

Father’s perceptions and care involvement for their very preterm infants at French neonatal intensive care units

ObjectivesWe aimed to evaluate (1) fathers’ perceptions and care involvement for their very premature infants and their views of the hospitalization period based on parental reports and (2) their evolution over time.MethodsWe used an online parental survey to assess answers from parents of very preterm infants who were successfully discharged from French neonatal units. We analysed answers from February 2014 to January 2019 to an anonymous internet-based survey from the GREEN committee of the French Neonatal Society. Responses were compared for period 1 (P1, 1998 to 2013) and period 2 (P2, 2014 to 2019).ResultsWe analyzed 2,483 surveys, 124 (5%) from fathers and 2,359 (95%) from mothers. At birth, 1,845 (80%) fathers were present in the hospital, but only 879 (38%) were near the mother. The presence of fathers in the NICU increased from P1 to P2 (34.5% vs. 43.1%, p = 0.03). Nearly two thirds of fathers accompanied their infants during transfer to the NICU (1,204 fathers, 60.6%). Fathers and mothers had similar perceptions regarding relationships with caregivers and skin-to-skin contact with their infants. However, more fathers than mothers felt welcome in the NICU and in care involvement regarding requests for their wishes when they met their infant (79% vs. 60%, p = 0.02) and in the presentation of the NICU (91% vs. 76%; p = 0.03). Mothers and fathers significantly differed in the caring procedures they performed (p = 0.01), procedures they did not perform but wanted to perform (p < 0.001), and procedures they did not perform and did not want to perform (p < 0.01).ConclusionMost fathers were present at the births of their very preterm infants, but fewer fathers were near the mother at this time. Less than two thirds of fathers accompanied their infants to the NICU. There should be further changes to better meet the specific needs of the fathers of infants requiring care in the NICU. Continuing assessment with an online questionnaire may be useful to monitor changes over time in father’s involvement in NICUs

Living with a Crucial Decision: A Qualitative Study of Parental Narratives Three Years after the Loss of Their Newborn in the NICU

BACKGROUND: The importance of involving parents in the end-of-life decision-making-process (EOL DMP) for their child in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is recognised by ethical guidelines in numerous countries. However, studies exploring parents' opinions on the type of involvement report conflicting results. This study sought to explore parents' experience of the EOL DMP for their child in the NICU. METHODS: The study used a retrospective longitudinal design with a qualitative analysis of parental experience 3 years after the death of their child in four NICUs in France. 53 face-to-face interviews and 80 telephone interviews were conducted with 164 individuals. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore how parents perceived their role in the decision process, what they valued about physicians' attitudes in this situation and whether their long-term emotional well being varied according to their perceived role in the EOL DMP. FINDINGS: Qualitative analysis identified four types of perceived role in the DMP: shared, medical, informed parental decision, and no decision. Shared DM was the most appreciated by parents. Medical DM was experienced as positive only when it was associated with communication. Informed parental DM was associated with feelings of anxiousness and abandonment. The physicians' attitudes that were perceived as helpful in the long term were explicit sharing of responsibility, clear expression of staff preferences, and respectful care and language toward the child. INTERPRETATION: Parents find it valuable to express their opinion in the EOL DMP of their child. Nonetheless, they do need continuous emotional support and an explicit share of the responsibility for the decision. As involvement preferences and associated feelings can vary, parents should be able to decide what role they want to play. However, our study suggests that fully autonomous decisions should be misadvised in these types of tragic choices

Living with a crucial decision : the world of parents after the loss of their newborn in the NICU

Qu’est-ce qu’une décision ? Comment se construit-elle dans la vraie vie ? La vision d’une décision située entre délibération et action correspond-elle à une réalité ? Est-elle l’acte qui crée une rupture dans le cours des évènements ?Pour explorer ces questions et secouer les cadres de la décision, ce travail s’est appuyé sur l’expérience humaine davantage que sur des analysesthéoriques. C’est à la lumière de la narration de parents ayant perdu leurnouveau-né en réanimation, trois ans auparavant suite à une décision depoursuivre ou non des traitements, que nous proposons de revoir la notion dedécision.Le regard et le discours rétrospectifs des parents entendus lors d’un entretiende recherche dévoilent tout un univers et les circonstances dramatiques dans les quelles ils ont été amenés à se déterminer. C’est pris dans des émotions très fortes envers leur nouveau-né et dépendants des attitudes des soignants qu’ils se sont approchés de leur enfant et qu’ils se sont décidés ; nous constatons les ressources qu’ils ont puisées à l’intérieur d’eux-mêmes pourrépondre à ces demandes des soignants. Dans ce contexte les actes delangage sont évoqués : par le seul fait de le dire, les parents réussissent à sedécider mais non à décider des actions des médecins.Les parents évoquent aussi leur présent, en tant qu’avenir d’un passé certes révolu mais qui se prolonge par la mémoire. Au présent, ils inscrivent leur narration dans la traversée du deuil et attribuent à l’enfant perdu et à peine connu, une puissance d’âme qui dépasse largement ce qui peut être imaginé.Les sentiments de responsabilité et de culpabilité qu’ils éprouvent face à eux mêmes et face au petit mort donnent du sens au passé et participent a posteriori à une inscription de soi en tant qu’un des acteurs dans cette histoire.La délibération semble possible après la mort de l’enfant ; elle vient après coup insérer une forme de liberté humaine et de raison dans cette histoire.Revenant dans l’univers des soignants, ce travail se termine par une réflexion sur les conditions nécessaires pour qu’une telle décision soit acceptable à10long terme pour des parents : c’est un choix non pas idéal mais raisonnable et suffisamment bon pour l’enfant, une décision partagée sous la forme d’une discussion, qui se construit dans le récit de leur vie. La possibilité de créer soi même quelque chose de personnel avec son enfant illumine cette histoire.La question que nous traitons est éthique en elle-même car elle participe à un questionnement philosophique de l’action. Elle est d’ordre éthique et philosophique, mais aussi pratique. Les parents vivent cette histoire sous le regard des soignants qui révèlent dans l’interaction la considération qu’ils ont pour eux et la prise en compte de leur vulnérabilité. Le discours des parents,ici accompagné d’une réflexion rationnelle, pourrait favoriser l’émergence chez les soignants d’émotions empathiques et du sentiment d’appartenir à une humanité commune. Sous cette forme, il peut aussi constituer un moyen didactique fort pour remettre en question des représentations un peu stéréotypées et plus généralement le modèle de la décision vécue en médecine.What is a decision ? How is a decision constructed, processed in real life ? Is a decision always temporally situated between deliberation and action ? Is it the action that ruptures reality at that point ? To explore these questions and question the limits of decision-making, this work has been created from an experience rather than theoretical analysis. Parental narration about the loss of their newborn in the NICU, three years before, in the aftermath of e decision to forgo life saving treatment, enlightens our analysis about what decision making actually is. Parental retrospective view and discourse gathered during a research interview unveil a unknown world of emotions and dramatic circumstances. In this context parents have to decide. It is with contradictory feelings towards their newborn and dependancy on caregivers that parents have come closer to their child and decided themselves. We enlighten the resource they have found insight themselves to reach from these requests from the carers.In this context, speech acts are brought up : by the fact of saying their decision, parents succeed in making their mind up but they do not decide what physician’s actions will be. Parents also speak about their present life and feelings ; the present time is seen as the future of a past bygone but that goes on in the memory. Today, they describe their crossing of the mourning. The lost child’s, scarcely known, appears now as a soul, with a power that exceeds largely what could be imagined. Feelings of guilt and responsibility experienced towards oneself and towards their dead child give sense to the past. These feelings retrospectively participate in creating a view of oneself as an actor in what happened. Deliberation seems possible even after the child’s death. Il puts in the aftermath, a form of human freedom ad rationality. Finally, we return to the world of the caregivers and end with an analysis of the conditions of a “sufficiently” good decision, acceptable in the long term for the parents

Recommendations on neonatal light environment from the French Neonatal Society.

Hospital light may affect neonatal neurosensory development and the well-being of parents and caregivers. We aimed to issue practical recommendations regarding the optimal light environment for neonatal units

La part des parents dans la décision en réanimation néonatale (exploration d'un univers méconnu)

Qu est-ce qu une décision ? Comment se construit-elle dans la vraie vie ? La vision d une décision située entre délibération et action correspond-elle à une réalité ? Est-elle l acte qui crée une rupture dans le cours des évènements ?Pour explorer ces questions et secouer les cadres de la décision, ce travail s est appuyé sur l expérience humaine davantage que sur des analysesthéoriques. C est à la lumière de la narration de parents ayant perdu leurnouveau-né en réanimation, trois ans auparavant suite à une décision depoursuivre ou non des traitements, que nous proposons de revoir la notion dedécision.Le regard et le discours rétrospectifs des parents entendus lors d un entretiende recherche dévoilent tout un univers et les circonstances dramatiques dans les quelles ils ont été amenés à se déterminer. C est pris dans des émotions très fortes envers leur nouveau-né et dépendants des attitudes des soignants qu ils se sont approchés de leur enfant et qu ils se sont décidés ; nous constatons les ressources qu ils ont puisées à l intérieur d eux-mêmes pourrépondre à ces demandes des soignants. Dans ce contexte les actes delangage sont évoqués : par le seul fait de le dire, les parents réussissent à sedécider mais non à décider des actions des médecins.Les parents évoquent aussi leur présent, en tant qu avenir d un passé certes révolu mais qui se prolonge par la mémoire. Au présent, ils inscrivent leur narration dans la traversée du deuil et attribuent à l enfant perdu et à peine connu, une puissance d âme qui dépasse largement ce qui peut être imaginé.Les sentiments de responsabilité et de culpabilité qu ils éprouvent face à eux mêmes et face au petit mort donnent du sens au passé et participent a posteriori à une inscription de soi en tant qu un des acteurs dans cette histoire.La délibération semble possible après la mort de l enfant ; elle vient après coup insérer une forme de liberté humaine et de raison dans cette histoire.Revenant dans l univers des soignants, ce travail se termine par une réflexion sur les conditions nécessaires pour qu une telle décision soit acceptable à10long terme pour des parents : c est un choix non pas idéal mais raisonnable et suffisamment bon pour l enfant, une décision partagée sous la forme d une discussion, qui se construit dans le récit de leur vie. La possibilité de créer soi même quelque chose de personnel avec son enfant illumine cette histoire.La question que nous traitons est éthique en elle-même car elle participe à un questionnement philosophique de l action. Elle est d ordre éthique et philosophique, mais aussi pratique. Les parents vivent cette histoire sous le regard des soignants qui révèlent dans l interaction la considération qu ils ont pour eux et la prise en compte de leur vulnérabilité. Le discours des parents,ici accompagné d une réflexion rationnelle, pourrait favoriser l émergence chez les soignants d émotions empathiques et du sentiment d appartenir à une humanité commune. Sous cette forme, il peut aussi constituer un moyen didactique fort pour remettre en question des représentations un peu stéréotypées et plus généralement le modèle de la décision vécue en médecine.What is a decision ? How is a decision constructed, processed in real life ? Is a decision always temporally situated between deliberation and action ? Is it the action that ruptures reality at that point ? To explore these questions and question the limits of decision-making, this work has been created from an experience rather than theoretical analysis. Parental narration about the loss of their newborn in the NICU, three years before, in the aftermath of e decision to forgo life saving treatment, enlightens our analysis about what decision making actually is. Parental retrospective view and discourse gathered during a research interview unveil a unknown world of emotions and dramatic circumstances. In this context parents have to decide. It is with contradictory feelings towards their newborn and dependancy on caregivers that parents have come closer to their child and decided themselves. We enlighten the resource they have found insight themselves to reach from these requests from the carers.In this context, speech acts are brought up : by the fact of saying their decision, parents succeed in making their mind up but they do not decide what physician s actions will be. Parents also speak about their present life and feelings ; the present time is seen as the future of a past bygone but that goes on in the memory. Today, they describe their crossing of the mourning. The lost child s, scarcely known, appears now as a soul, with a power that exceeds largely what could be imagined. Feelings of guilt and responsibility experienced towards oneself and towards their dead child give sense to the past. These feelings retrospectively participate in creating a view of oneself as an actor in what happened. Deliberation seems possible even after the child s death. Il puts in the aftermath, a form of human freedom ad rationality. Finally, we return to the world of the caregivers and end with an analysis of the conditions of a sufficiently good decision, acceptable in the long term for the parents.PARIS11-SCD-Bib. électronique (914719901) / SudocSudocFranceF

What Motivates Parents to Continue a Pregnancy after a Life-Limiting Fetal Diagnosis: A Qualitative Study of Parents

International audienceContext: Despite their painful context, the observations and recommendations of studies of perinatal professionals have shown the existence of institutional barriers to the performance of perinatal palliative care (PPC), sometimes linked to these professionals’ moral judgments. This may impede their communication with parents - presentation of management options and decisionmaking - and the concrete performance of PPC.Objective: This study analyzes the motives for which women or couples continue pregnancies after the diagnosis of a lifelimiting fetal disorder (LLFD).Methods: Qualitative study. Discourse analysis of internet posts written by parents on the internet forum of a parents’ association. Most families underlined the importance of spending time with their baby, of getting to know them during the pregnancy and if possible after their birth. These families’ priority is the opportunity to experience and fully exercise their parental responsibilities in making decisions for this unborn infant: showing a personal desire that, insofar as possible, their baby should not suffer and should be welcomed with love. Their child’s lifetime, often brief, is valued as a time of meeting and of love, whether in utero or after birth; they report they attribute little importance to its duration. Avoiding a decision to end the child’s life voluntarily, regardless of his or her prognosis for survival, is also decisive for many parents, even though they cannot prevent the baby’s death due to the disease. A minority mention that this decision is motivated by the hope of a prognosis that will be better than expected, or that the diagnosis will not be confirmed, or a singularly better individual outcome. These cases manifested more of an opening towards a positive surprise, than a lack of confidence in the medical prediction. Religion was not mentioned as an argument for choosing PPC in our study.Conclusion: Parental motivations to continue pregnancies diagnosed prenatally as LLFD are centered on the early bond with the unborn baby, the consideration of his or her full existence as a person, and the prevention of future regrets. These motivations do not appear to be related to religious beliefs or lack of confidence in medical diagnosis/prognosis, Parental duty and love move parents towards this decision. Perinatal professionals should acknowledge these motivations to better understand parental choice and support them

Apology in cases of medical error disclosure: Thoughts based on a preliminary study

<div><p>Background</p><p>Disclosing medical errors is considered necessary by patients, ethicists, and health care professionals. Literature insists on the framing of this disclosure and describes the apology as appropriate and necessary. However, this policy seems difficult to put into practice. Few works have explored the function and meaning of the apology.</p><p>Objective</p><p>The aim of this study was to explore the role ascribed to apology in communication between healthcare professionals and patients when disclosing a medical error, and to discuss these findings using a linguistic and philosophical perspective.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Qualitative exploratory study, based on face-to-face semi-structured interviews, with seven physicians in a neonatal unit in France. Discourse analysis.</p><p>Results</p><p>Four themes emerged. Difference between apology in everyday life and in the medical encounter; place of the apology in the process of disclosure together with explanations, regrets, empathy and ways to avoid repeating the error; effects of the apology were to allow the patient-physician relationship undermined by the error, to be maintained, responsibility to be accepted, the first steps towards forgiveness to be taken, and a less hierarchical doctor-patient relationship to be created; ways of expressing apology (“I am sorry”) reflected regrets and empathy more than an explicit apology.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>This study highlights how the act of apology can be seen as a “language act” as described by philosophers Austin and Searle, and how it functions as a technique for making amends following a wrongdoing and as an action undertaken in order that neither party should lose face, thus echoing the sociologist Goffmann’s interaction theory. This interpretation also accords with the views of Lazare, for whom the function of apology is a restoration of dignity after the humiliation of the error. This approach to the apology illustrates how meaning and impact of real-life language acts can be clarified by philosophical and sociological ideas.</p></div

Ethically complex decisions in the neonatal intensive care unit: impact of the new French legislation on attitudes and practices of physicians and nurses.

International audienceObjectives A statute enacted in 2005 modified the legislative framework of the rights of terminally ill persons in France. Ten years after the EURONIC study, which described the self-reported practices of neonatal caregivers towards ethical decision-making, a new study was conducted to assess the impact of the new law in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) and compare the results reported by EURONIC with current practices. Setting and design The study was carried out in the same two NICU as in the EURONIC qualitative study. A third centre was added to increase the sample size. From February to October 2007, 19 physicians and 17 nurses participated in semistructured interviews very similar to those for EURONIC. Content analysis identified the recurring themes emerging from the interviews. Results Compared with the EURONIC results, the caregivers reported that they pay greater attention to the views of parents and provided respectful support to the neonates when life-sustaining treatment is withdrawn. Active termination of life has become exceptional. The possibility of withdrawal of treatment, the administration of sedatives to control pain even at the risk of hastening death, the emphasis on sparing parents the burden of decision, and the relative ignorance of the law were very similar to the EURONIC findings. Conclusion Both the medical and the legal regulation of practices has allowed more dialogue with the parents and more humane care for dying newborns. A new European study is necessary to investigate the possible changes in practices and attitudes also in other countries

Situations presented during the course of interviews.

<p>Situations presented during the course of interviews.</p