In the hospital setting, effective treatment of acute pain in children is a high priority as clinical studies have shown pediatric patients experience pain from medical illnesses, during therapeutic and diagnostic procedures, and from trauma and surgery [1–3]. Although opiates can be safely administered to children, the elimination half-life in newborns is observed to be longer, and clearance is decreased when compared to older children and adults [4]. The optimal plasma concentration for effective analgesia is highly variable, requiring careful titration to obtain the desired level of analgesia while minimizing side effects [5–7]. Moreover, these observed differences are particularly pronounced in the preterm neonate as opiates, such as morphine, are less protein bound which allows greater penetration into the immature blood–brain barrier and increases the risk for respiratory depression [7–10].