Increasing Caudal Block Utilization to Promote Opioid Stewardship in the NICU Population: A Quality Improvement Project

Regional anesthetic techniques are safe and effective in reducing pain and the need for opioid analgesia but may be underutilized in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) patients. We developed an opioid stewardship pathway aimed at reducing the use of opioid analgesia in neonates by increasing caudal block utilization from a baseline of 50%–90% within 18 months.