Expected results and potential implications

According to our working hypothesis we expect to find that most ventilated newborns infants receive continuous sedation and analgesia in European units. However, we feel that important differences among units within a country and among countries will appear. These differences will very likely also exist in the development of written local guidelines. This study will also reveal the differences among countries concerning the type of analgesics and sedatives used for ventilated neonates. Currently, we do not have these data. The neonatal network created by this study as well as the dissemination of the EUROPAIN STUDY results will allow the improvement of neonatal pain management in Europe. The availability of these data will enable comparison of practices with state-of-the-art knowledge.