EPEATED INVASIVE PROCEdures occur routinely in neonates who require intensive care, causing pain at a time when it is developmentally unexpected. 1 Neonates are more sensitive to pain than older infants, children, and adults, 2 and this hypersensitivity is exacerbated in preterm neonates. 3 Multiple lines of evidence suggest that repeated and prolonged pain exposure alters their subsequent pain processing, long-term development, and behavior. 4,5 It is essential, therefore, to prevent or treat pain in neonates. Numerous pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments can alleviate procedural pain in neonates. 6 As a consequence, national 7 and international 6 evidence-based guidelines have been issued for preventing or treating neonatal pain and its adverse consequences. The burden of procedural pain in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) has been reported in previous singlecenter studies 8-11 and a multicenter study. 12 The latter study was based on chart review and was not directly observational. Effective strategies to improve pain management in neonates require a better understanding of the epidemiology and management of procedural pain. We report epidemiological data on neonatal pain collected Context Effective strategies to improve pain management in neonates require a clear understanding of the epidemiology and management of procedural pain. Objective To report epidemiological data on neonatal pain collected from a geographically defined region, based on direct bedside observation of neonates.

ATRA did not seem to significantly improve the response to ATO in patients relapsing from APL. Other potential combinations, including ATO plus chemotherapy, have to be tested.

No abstract

We previously showed that arsenic trioxide (ATO) and melarsoprol may inhibit the growth of multiple myeloma (MM) cells in vitro and in vivo. We report here the administration of arsenic derivatives in 12 relapsing or refractory secretory MM patients. A total of 10 patients received ATO (eight in a continuous schedule, two discontinuously) and two received melarsoprol. The melarsoprol arm was prematurely closed due to toxicity. In the ATO arm, median duration of treatment was 38 days (9-54). Hepatic toxicity was grade 3 and 2 in one and eight patients, respectively. Other toxicities included neuropathy (n ¼ 2, grade 2), encephalitis (n ¼ 1, grade 3) and leuconeutropenia (n ¼ 4, grade 3). At 2 weeks after treatment initiation, mean serum concentration of arsenic was 1.1170.16 lmol/l. No complete or partial remission was observed. A minor response (25-49% reduction of M protein in serum) and a stabilization of the Mprotein level were observed in three and four patients, respectively. After ATO discontinuation, these responses were of short duration in all cases. ATO as a single agent did not produce any significant response in advanced MM patients despite sufficient arsenic exposure. Strategies to improve biodistribution, pharmacokinetic and efficacy of the drug as well as treatment combinations are needed.

Numerous behavioral pain measures have been validated for young children, but none is appropriate to assess pain in emergency departments (EDs), where caregivers need a simple, easily completed scale. Our objective was to elaborate and validate a tool, relevant in any painful situation, with agitation or prostration, and for any age under 7 years. Five items (scored 0 to 3) were developed by pediatric pain and emergency caregivers. The new scale, called EVENDOL, was tested at children's arrival and after analgesics, at rest, and during mobilization. The validation study included 291 children from birth to 7 years old in 4 French EDs, and independent observations by the ED nurse and a researcher. The Cronbach coefficient was excellent (0.83 to 0.92). Construct validity was demonstrated by a decrease in scores after nalbuphine: 8.14 to 3.62 of 15 at rest (P<.0001), 11.87 to 6.65 at mobilization (P = .0011); by good correlations between EVENDOL and nurse or researcher numerical scores: 0.79 to 0.92 (P<.0001); by good correlations between children's self-assessment scores and EVENDOL in children ages 4 to 7 (0.64 to 0.93). Discriminant validity with tiredness, anxiety, and hunger was good. Interrater reliability was excellent between nurses and researcher (weighted kappa 0.7 to 0.9), and in a group of 6 nurses (simultaneous assessment of 122 videos). The treatment threshold was determined at 4 of 15. EVENDOL has excellent validity and can be used for all children under age 7 in EDs, for any age and any pain, acute as well as more prolonged.