Our Society made numerous efforts to disseminate information about the new coronavirus and the best practices to care for neonates and children affected by the virus or the sequelae of the infection.
- Presidential declaration on pediatric COVID vaccination
- Practical advice from the frontline of SARS-CoV-2 outbreak
- COVID-19 pandemic personal protective equipment (PPE): Guidance for intensive care
- Prof Daniele de Luca: “COVID 19 surprised us but won’t scare us”
- Caring for Critically Ill Children With Suspected or Proven Coronavirus Disease 2019 Infection
- Nursing guidance for the care of the child with suspected or proven COVID-19 infection
- Recommendations for mechanical ventilation of children with proven or suspected COVID-19
- Recommendations for the transport of paediatric and neonatal COVID19 patients
- European consensus recommendations for neonatal and paediatric retrievals of positive or suspected COVID-19 patients
- Guidance for the care of the deteriorating child or in cardiac arrest with suspected or proven COVID-19 infection
- COVID-19 should be suspected in any child, particularly with fever and/or respiratory symptoms and appropriate measures instituted, also translated to different European languages
- COVID-19 Pandemic Ethics Statement
- Strategies to maintain high quality education and communication among our community
#ESPNICCOVID19 webinars
| Date | Topic | |
| 1 | April 7, 2020 | Practical guidance for nurses caring for COVID-19 patients in the PICU |
| 2 | April 13, 2020 | Non-invasive Ventilatory Support in Children during COVID-19 Pandemic – |
| 3 | April 15, 2020 | EPICENTRE presentations: a register for neonatal and pediatric COVID 19 |
| 4 | April 16, 2020 | Joint session with the European Academy of Paediatrics (EAP) on Ethics |
| 5 | April 20, 2020 | The role of ECMO in the current pandemic experience so far |
| 6 | April 25, 2020 | EPICENTRE presentations #2: a register for neonatal and pediatric COVID 19 |
| 7 | April 28, 2020 | Family-Centered Care in the PICU during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| 8 | April 30, 2020 | Invasive Ventilation in Children during COVID-19 pandemic |
| 9 | May 6, 2020 | Retrieval Medicine and Transport Logistic in COVID-19 Pandemic: An European Perspective |
| 10 | May 20, 2020 | A conversation on perinatal and neonatal COVID19: experiences from Europe and China |
| 11 | June 10, 2020 | Preventing and managing clinical deterioration in the COVID-19 child |
| 12 | July 3, 2020 | What does an intensivist need to know about AKI and RRT in COVID 19? |
EPICENTRE
In March 2020, ESPNIC launched an international registry on Paediatric and Neonatal SARS-CoV-2 infections called EPICENTRE (EsPnIc Covid pEdiatric NeonaTal REgistry). Currently, more than 80 units have already joined the registry in order to exchange and benefit from the data collected.
EPICENTRE purpose is to collect clinical and physiopathological data on pаediatric/neonatal cases of COVID and on neonates born to mothers with SARS-VoV-2 infection and advance knowledge in the field. As we are in a rapidly evolutive situation, time is critical and we strive to have as much data as possible. All joining centers will be part of group authorship in future presentations and publications arising from EPICENTRE.
EPICENTRE is obviously totally anonymous and divided into two arms – Neonatal (cases diagnosed in the first 30d) and Paediatric (cases diagnosed beyond 30d). According to the preferences chosen, different fields will display to be filled. The Registry is based on the REDCap architecture hosted by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia and has already received an Australian IRB approval, available for those who may need it as per their local regulations.
The Registry has also been modeled in order to be able to merge data with similar international registries being launched in other continents. EPICENTRE has no sponsor and is being managed only thanks to the work of some collaborators.
For more info and to gain access please contact us
Please see a detailed article published in the European Journal of Pediatrics summarizing the background and protocol for the international SARS-CoV-2 infections registry.
Vermont Oxford Network (VON) and the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine (SONPM) have created a tool to help newborn care teams understand the impact of COVID-19 in their own units and more broadly in the neonatal community. The goal is to inform local and national decision-making for program evaluation and quality improvement.
The audit is open to all hospitals caring for infants regardless of VON membership. The audit will be conducted on a single day of your choice and you may choose to repeat the audit each month. Aggregate reporting will appear on the VON website.
ESPNIC is also collaborating with the PAN-COVID initiative which is the collaboration between the main pediatric/neonatal registries on the pandemics.
Wellbeing Wednesday Webinar Series
A 6-part video series on wellbeing, including practical advice for handling stress, grief and supporting your team in the midst of difficult times. ESPNIC launched the video series to provide resources on wellbeing for its members and the general public during the COVID-19 pandemic. The series was hosted by Dr. Ellie Atkins, a clinical psychologist from St. George’s Hospital, London, UK. The 6-part series was released over the course of 6 weeks (1 episode per week) and concluded with a live Q&A event. All 6 episodes and the recording of the live Q&A event are available on the ESPNIC Education portal.