Consistency of definitions used in International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation Neonatal Life Support documents

The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) disseminates scientific evidence reviews and neonatal resuscitation treatment recommendations through its Neonatal Life Support Task Force. Clear and consistent terminology is essential when developing clinical guidelines for international stakeholders. The objective of this study was to assess the consistency of the terms and definitions used in Neonatal Life Support Task Force documents related to participants, interventions and outcomes.

Investigators manually searched four types of Neonatal Life Support Task Force documents, including (1) protocols for reviews and (2) treatment recommendations published since 2019, (3) 2020 consensus outcome ratings, and (4) 2023 guidelines for uniform reporting for resuscitation-related terminology. Only terms defined in at least two documents were included. Investigators from the Neonatal Life Support Task Force and invited content experts reviewed the included terms and definitions for consistency.

A total of 227 unique resuscitation terms with explicit definitions were extracted from 67documents. After exclusion of 164 terms defined in only a single document, the definitions of 63 terms were assessed for consistency. The definitions of 23 (37%) terms were judged to be similar across documents. The remaining terms had inconsistencies in definitions used for the same term or for similar constructs using different terms.

Greater consistency of terminology within Neonatal Life Support Task Force documents has the potential to improve communication between researchers, clinicians, and educators. Additionally, variation in terminology may hinder evidence synthesis in systematic reviews. Efforts to develop consensus definitions for terms used in ILCOR documents are needed.