Comparison of Low and High Dose Clonidine for Infants Admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: This study compares the efficacy of starting with low-dose vs high-dose enteral clonidine for the treatment of pain, agitation, and opioid withdrawal in high-risk infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). METHODS: This was a retrospective chart review study of infants admitted to a level IV NICU between September 2014 and December 2022 who were started on enteral clonidine before 50 weeks post-menstrual age (PMA) for pain, agitation, or opioid withdrawal. Data were collected over the first 30 days of clonidine treatment. Infants started on low-dose (LDC: <4 mcg/kg/day) and high-dose clonidine (HDC: ≥4 mcg/kg/day) were compared using SPSS V29.0 (IBM) for statistical analyses. RESULTS: Ninety-five infants met the inclusion criteria; 41 received LDC, and 54 received HDC. There were no statistically significant differences in any demographic parameter between the groups before starting clonidine. There was no difference in reduction in Neonatal-Pain, Agitation, and Sedation Scale (N-PASS) scores during the 30-day treatment period, despite the LDC group having a lower maximum clonidine dose (4 vs 8 mcg/kg/day, p ≤ 0.01) than the HDC group. CONCLUSION: Our observational study suggests that starting with LDC may be as effective as HDC in treating pain, agitation, and opioid withdrawal in infants admitted to the NICU.
Source: PubMed
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7128712320
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