Buprenorphine: a new player in neonatal withdrawal syndrome.

OBJECTIVE

To study the incidence and patient characteristics of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) in infants who were born to opioid addicted mothers and required NICU admission over the three year period.

STUDY

DESIGN

From 2009 to 2011, data of infants admitted in WVUH NICU with history of maternal drug exposure were extracted and reviewed. Infants born to mothers treated with buprenorphine (BPN) and those with methadone (MTD) were compared.

RESULTS

Incidence of drug exposure infants significantly increased in 2011. BPN exposure infants increased substantially while the number of MTD exposure infants did not significantly change. Eighty-one percent of those MTD exposure infants required drug treatment for NAS compared to 26% of BPN exposure infants.

CONCLUSION

Significant increase in opioid exposure infants with NAS was observed in our unit in 2011. Although, the incidence of BPN exposure with NAS increased significantly, only 25% of them required drug treatment.