Use of inhaled nitric oxide in neonatal intensive care units

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Variation and trends in the use of inhaled nitric oxide in term and preterm neonates treated in neonatal intensive care units in England, Wales and Scotland.

• IRAS ID

  187904

• Contact name

  Nimish Subhedar

• Contact email

  nim.subhedar@lwh.nhs.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trsut

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 3 months, 31 days

• Research summary

  Inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) is widely used in the treatment of respiratory failure and persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. Although a well-established therapy in term and near-term infants, its use in preterm infants < 34 weeks’ gestation remains controversial.
  Population based data indicates that there is wide variation in administration rates amongst US hospitals, but there is no equivalent data from the UK or mainland Europe. Data from individual centres and multicentre studies suggests that the use of iNO is increasing in recent years, especially in preterm infants, despite the lack of a clear evidence base in this population.
  Inhaled nitric oxide therapy is one of the most expensive treatments currently offered in neonatal intensive care and a greater understanding of any variations in use may have wider implications for neonatal health care provision.

  The objectives of this project are:
  1) To describe hospital variation in the use of iNO in term and preterm infants admitted to neonatal units in England, Wales and Scotland
  2) To describe the demographic characteristics of these infants
  3) To determine the extent of off-label iNO use

• REC name

  West of Scotland REC 5

• REC reference

  16/WS/0228

• Date of REC Opinion

  2 Nov 2016

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion