Browsing by Subject "Neonatal abstinence syndrome"

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    Factors associated with the incidence and severity of neonatal abstinence syndrome in infants born to opioid dependent mothers
    (2018-07-13) Scott, Lisa Anne; Rawl, Susan M.; Shieh, Carol; Stone, Cynthia; Duwve, Joan
    Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), the constellation of withdrawal symptoms experienced by neonates exposed to opioids prenatally, is an epidemic affecting an estimated 23,580 infants each year with an annual cost of $720 million. The purpose of this study was to examine factors associated with the incidence and severity of NAS as measured by the need for initiation of neonatal medication, peak medication dose, hospital length of stay (LOS), and hospital costs among newborns born to opioiddependent mothers. A retrospective review of medical records was conducted with two convenience samples: 204 infants born to mothers who used opioids during pregnancy; and 121 of these infants who required treatment with morphine to control symptoms of NAS. Data from April 2011 to September 2017 were collected from medical records of a large Midwestern hospital. Exploratory analysis and descriptive statistics were performed. Associations between independent variables and outcomes were examined using correlations, chi-square, t-tests, analyses of variance, and linear regression. Of the 204 neonates who were exposed to opioids prenatally, 121 (59%) developed symptoms of NAS requiring treatment with morphine. Neonates requiring morphine had significantly higher gestational ages than those who did not (37.7 vs 36.4 weeks; p = < .001) and their mothers were present at the neonates’ bedside a lower proportion of their total hospital stay (mean = 0.5684 of days vs 0.7384 of days; p = < .001). Compared to maternal use of buprenorphine, maternal methadone use was associated with higher peak morphine doses needed to control the neonate’s withdrawal symptoms (0.089 mg/kg versus 0.054 mg/kg; p = .023), and with longer hospital length of stay when compared to maternal use of buprenorphine and other opioid analgesics (34.2 vs. 20.8 vs. 22.5 days, respectively; p=0.02). Higher visitation time from the primary caregiver was correlated with lower hospital LOS (r = -0.421; p = < .001). Future research is needed to examine these relationships prospectively in a larger and more diverse sample. An effective response to the epidemics of opioid use during pregnancy and the incidence of NAS requires ongoing coordinated research and intervention in clinical care, public health, and health policy.
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    Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Screening for Newborn Girl with Prenatal Maternal History of Substance Use Disorder
    (2020-03) Arnaudo, Camila; Chiu, Megan; Essex, Amanda; D'Arnaud, Lindsey
    Background: Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) is a drug withdrawal syndrome of newborns with prenatal exposure to opioids and other substances. Incidence of NAS has increased significantly in the last decade and remains a current issue. Untreated NAS can lead to adverse outcomes including infant death. All newborns with known opioid exposure are screened for NAS using the Finnegan Scoring System or now more popular Eat Sleep Console (ESC) method. Treatment ranges from supportive care to pharmacological management, dependent on assessment scoring and clinical signs. Case: A 3.48kg female newborn was born at 40-week,2-day gestation from spontaneous vaginal delivery with no meconium and Apgar scores of 8 and 9. Prenatal maternal history was significant for hepatitis C, heroin use and buprenorphine (BUP) mono-product as medication assisted treatment (MAT) and maternal urine drug screen positive for BUP and benzodiazepines at delivery. The newborn’s urine drug screen was positive only for BUP. During her 4-day hospital course, she was eating and voiding well with some need for caregiver support for consoling and no need for pharmacological intervention per ESC. She was discharged home with mother and supportive extended family and has been developing well without major complications. Clinical Significance: Several barriers (social stigma, provider bias and legal policies) discourage mothers from seeking prenatal care and MAT, thus precluding NAS screening and treatment. Studies show that increased access and earlier initiation to maternal MAT improves outcomes for both mother and baby. Decreasing stigma and bias, implementing non-punitive policies and using ESC have also been shown to improve outcomes. This case provides a positive example of early initiation maternal MAT and use of ESC for a newborn with concern for NAS. We hope these cases will continue to help decrease stigma and help us advocate for non-punitive state policies regarding substance use during pregnancy.
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    Neuroimaging in Infants with Prenatal Opioid Exposure: Current Evidence, Recent Developments and Targets for Future Research
    (Elsevier, 2021) Radhakrishnan, Rupa; Grecco, Gregory; Stolze, Kellen; Atwood, Brady; Jennings, Samuel G.; Lien, Izlin Z.; Saykin, Andrew J.; Sadhasivam, Senthilkumar; Radiology and Imaging Sciences, School of Medicine
    Prenatal opioid exposure (POE) has shown to be a risk factor for adverse long-term cognitive and behavioral outcomes in offspring. However, the neural mechanisms of these outcomes remain poorly understood. While preclinical and human studies suggest that these outcomes may be due to opioid-mediated changes in the fetal and early postnatal brain, other maternal, social, and environmental factors are also shown to play a role. Recent neuroimaging studies reveal brain alterations in children with POE. Early neuroimaging and novel methodology could provide an in vivo mechanistic understanding of opioid mediated alterations in developing brain. However, this is an area of ongoing research. In this review we explore recent imaging developments in POE, with emphasis on the neonatal and infant brain, and highlight some of the challenges of imaging the developing brain in this population. We also highlight evidence from animal models and imaging in older children and youth to understand areas where future research may be targeted in infants with POE.
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    Resting state functional MRI in infants with prenatal opioid exposure-a pilot study
    (Springer, 2021-04) Radhakrishnan, Rupa; Elsaid, Nahla M. H.; Sadhasivam, Senthilkumar; Reher, Thomas A.; Hines, Abbey C.; Yoder, Karmen K.; Saykin, Andrew J.; Wu, Yu-Chien; Radiology and Imaging Sciences, School of Medicine
    PURPOSE: Exposure to prenatal opioids may adversely impact the developing brain networks. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate alterations in amygdalar functional connectivity in human infants with prenatal opioid exposure. METHODS: In this prospective IRB approved study, we performed resting state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) in 10 infants with prenatal opioid exposure and 12 infants without prenatal drug exposure at < 48 weeks corrected gestational age. Following standard preprocessing, we performed seed-based functional connectivity analysis with the right and left amygdala as the regions of interest after correcting for maternal depression and infant sex. We compared functional connectivity of the amygdala network between infants with and without prenatal opioid exposure. RESULTS: There were significant differences in connectivity of the amygdala seed regions to the several cortical regions including the medial prefrontal cortex in infants who had prenatal opioid exposure when compared with opioid naïve infants. CONCLUSION: This finding of increased amygdala functional connectivity in infants with in utero opioid exposure suggests a potential role of maternal opioid exposure on infants' altered amygdala function. This association with prenatal exposure needs to be replicated in future larger studies.
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    The risks and consequences of opioid misuse
    (2018-05-22) Greene, Marion Siegrid; Zollinger, Terrel W.; Steele, Gregory K.; Yiannoutsos, Constantin T.; Chambers, R. Andrew; Vest, Joshua R.; Wright, Eric R.
    Opioid misuse and addiction has been widely identified as a public health problem, contributing substantially to the nation’s morbidity and mortality. Over the past two decades, misuse of prescription opioids pain relievers has substantially increased; heroin use has resurged; and, more recently, abuse of high-potency synthetic opioids such as fentanyl have fueled the epidemic. Nearly 12 million Americans (or 4.4%) aged 12 and older misused some type of opioid (prescribed or illegal) in the past year. Furthermore, the percentage of substance use treatment admissions attributable to opioids nearly doubled in the U.S., from 20.8% in 2000 to 40.5% in 2015. The purpose of this dissertation research was to investigate associations between prescription pain reliever use and subsequent negative health outcomes, including opioid misuse or addiction, and neonatal abstinence syndrome. This research focused on three specific aims: Specific Aim #1: Examine heroin use among Indiana’s substance use treatment population to measure the extent, trends, and patterns of use, as well as to assess the relationship between prescription opioids and subsequent heroin use; Specific Aim #2: Analyze 2014 INSPECT (Indiana’s prescription drug monitoring program) data to identify factors that increase patients’ likelihood to engage in opioidrelated risk behaviors; and Specific Aim #3: Review U.S. trends in neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) incidence from 2008-2014, measure regional variability, and identify personal and environmental risk factors associated with NAS.
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    Trends in Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome and Opioid Exposure Diagnoses Among Infants With Private Health Insurance, 2016-2021: Introduction of the P04.14 ICD-10-CM Code
    (Sage, 2024) Campbell, Angela G.; Zhang, Pengyue; Rosenman, Marc B.; Scott, Emily; Wiehe, Sarah E.; Biostatistics and Health Data Science, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health
    Objective: The opioid epidemic has led to a surge in diagnoses of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS). Many states track the incidence of NOWS by using the P96.1 International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) code for "neonatal withdrawal symptoms from maternal use of drugs of addiction." In October 2018, an ICD-10-CM code for neonatal opioid exposure (P04.14) was introduced. This code can be used when an infant is exposed to opioids in utero but does not have clinically significant withdrawal symptoms. We analyzed the effect of the P04.14 code on the incidence rate of NOWS (P96.1) and "other" neonatal drug exposure diagnoses (P04.49). Methods: We used private health insurance data collected for infants in the United States from the first quarter of 2016 through the third quarter of 2021 to describe incidence rates for each code over time and examine absolute and percentage changes before and after the introduction of code P04.14. Results: The exclusive use of code P96.1 declined from an incidence rate per 1000 births of 1.08 in 2016-2018 to 0.70 in 2019-2021, a -35.7% (95% CI, -47.6% to -23.8%) reduction. Use of code P04.49 only declined from an incidence rate of 2.34 in 2016-2018 to 1.64 in 2019-2021, a -30.0% (95% CI, -36.4% to -23.7%) reduction. Use of multiple codes during the course of treatment increased from an average incidence per 1000 births of 0.56 in 2016-2018 to 0.79 in 2019-2021, a 45.5% (95% CI, 24.8%-66.1%) increase. Conclusion: The introduction of ICD-10-CM code P04.14 altered the use of other neonatal opioid exposure codes. The use of multiple codes increased, indicating that some ambiguity may exist about which ICD-10-CM code is most appropriate for a given set of symptoms.