Depression of Cortical Neuronal Activity After a Low-dose Fentanyl in Preterm Infants

Overview

Journal Acta Paediatr

Specialty Pediatrics

Date 2024 Sep 11

PMID 39258825

Authors

Sofie Nilsson

Anton Tokariev

Timo Vehvilainen

Vineta Fellman

Sampsa Vanhatalo

Elisabeth Norman

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Aim: Opioids might be harmful to the developing brain and dosing accuracy is important. We aimed at investigating fentanyl effects on cortical activity in infants using computational re-analysis of bedside recorded EEG signals.

Methods: Fifteen infants born at median 26.4 gestational weeks (range 23.3-34.1), with a birth weight 740 grams (530-1420) and postnatal age 7 days (5-11) received fentanyl 0.5 or 2 μg/kg intravenously before a skin-breaking procedure or tracheal intubation, respectively. Cortical activity was continuously recorded using amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG). Analyses using three computational EEG features representing cortical synchrony and signal power, were conducted five minutes pre- and 10 minutes post the drug administration.

Results: Visual assessment of trends displayed from the EEG metrics did not indicate systematic changes. However, the magnitude of the changes in the parietal and right hemisphere signals after the dose was significantly correlated (ρ < -0.5, p < 0.05) to the EEG amplitude and frequency power level before drug administration. This effect started after 3-4 min.

Conclusion: Fentanyl, even in small doses, may affect cortical activity in the preterm brain. The effect is robustly related to the state of cortical activity prior to drug treatment, which must be taken into account when analysing the effects of sedative drugs.

Citing Articles

Neonatal Electroencephalogram Recording with a Dry Electrode Cap: A Feasibility Study.

Asayesh A, Warsito I, Haueisen J, Fiedler P, Vanhatalo S Sensors (Basel). 2025; 25(3).

PMID: 39943605 PMC: 11819672. DOI: 10.3390/s25030966.

Depression of cortical neuronal activity after a low-dose fentanyl in preterm infants.

Nilsson S, Tokariev A, Vehvilainen T, Fellman V, Vanhatalo S, Norman E Acta Paediatr. 2024; 114(1):109-115.

PMID: 39258825 PMC: 11627449. DOI: 10.1111/apa.17411.

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