Illness

Three low-cost, high-impact safety strategies for administering medication to newborns are:

Mandatory independent double-checking: Two professionals separately verify the calculation, drug, dosage, and route of administration for high-risk medications prior to administration.

Standardization of concentrations and labeling: A single concentration per drug within the unit, using clear labels and color-coding to distinguish dosages.

Priority strategies for ensuring safety in medication administration for newborns include:

A culture of safety and error reporting Standardized protocols and checklists; double-checking during preparation and administration

Supportive technology A protected environment during preparation A

ppropriate nurse-to-patient ratios, prioritization of complex cases, and assignment of highly experienced staff Involving the family as a partner in safety

Neonatal sepsis remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among newborns worldwide.

Globally, approximately 25% of neonatal deaths are caused by infections, with neonatal sepsis accounting for 10% of these deaths.

Treatment to prevent congenital syphilis is considered adequate if it is initiated 30 days before delivery. This regimen prevents congenital syphilis.

Additionally, the pregnant woman must receive treatment based on the staging of the case:

Primary, secondary, and early latent syphilis:

■ 1 dose of benzathine penicillin (2,400,000 IU IM).

Syphilis of unknown duration, late latent, and tertiary syphilis:

■ 3 doses of benzathine penicillin (2,400,000 IU IM), with one-week intervals between doses.

Syphilis during pregnancy can cause serious complications such as miscarriage, premature birth, and low birth weight.

If syphilis is not properly treated, it can lead to severe consequences for the baby, including brain damage, organ problems, or stillbirth.

Diagnostic tests for syphilis are classified into treponemal tests (TT) and non-treponemal tests (NTT).

NTT include the VDRL (Venereal Disease Research Laboratory), USR (VDRL modified for unheated serum), and RPR (Rapid Plasma Reagin, involving the addition of carbon particles and macroscopic reading). These tests measure antibodies produced in response to the infection.

Syphilis can be prevented through the correct and consistent use of condoms, which significantly reduces the risk of infection. Key to this is the availability of condoms within prenatal care services and their use promotion.

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by a bacterium (*Treponema pallidum*) that spreads through contact with sores during unprotected sex.

Symptoms can include painless sores, rashes, and flu-like symptoms.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has updated regional syphilis estimates for the Americas. An estimated 4.2 million new syphilis cases occurred in 2024 - 500,000 more than in 2022 - representing a 15% increase. Ninety percent of these new cases were concentrated in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Moreover, the estimated syphilis prevalence in pregnant women in LAC has been rising steadely, with estimated prevalence reaching 2,1% in 2024, up from 1,4% in 2019.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes that newborns feel pain and discomfort and may experience emotional distress, especially when separated from their families in the first hours of life. Pain management and comfort care are WHO standards of care. (Standards in below, in "source")

Pain in newborns affects neurodevelopment, with potential short- and long-term effects.