The effect of prenatal alcohol co-exposure on neonatal abstinence syndrome in infants born to mothers in opioid maintenance treatment |
| |
| Authors: | Christine Kreitinger Hilda Gutierrez Ajna Hamidovic Cheryl Schmitt Preeyaporn Sarangarm William F. Rayburn |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administrative Sciences, College of Pharmacy andckreitinger@salud.unm.edu;3. Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administrative Sciences, College of Pharmacy and;4. Department of Family and Community Medicine, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA,;5. Department of Pharmacy, University of New Mexico Hospital, Albuquerque, NM, USA, and;6. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA |
| |
| Abstract: | Objective: This study examined the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) on the incidence and severity of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS).Study design: For this pilot study, 70 pregnant women on opioid maintenance therapy (OMT) were recruited from a perinatal substance abuse clinic. Subjects were categorized into three study groups based on the timing of alcohol use during pregnancy as assessed by repeated self-reported measures and a comprehensive panel of ethanol biomarkers. NAS outcomes included: duration of hospital stay, the need for pharmacological treatment of NAS, newborn age at the initiation of NAS treatment, duration of treatment and cumulative methadone dose administered.Results: The study included a large proportion of ethnic minorities (81.4% Hispanic, 5.7% American Indian), women with less than a high school education (52.2%) and unplanned pregnancy (82.9%). In multivariate analysis, PAE was not associated with NAS outcomes; however, one newborn diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) demonstrated much more severe NAS compared to other PAE infants. Interestingly, 3rd trimester PAE was associated with a higher prevalence of microcephaly (62.5%) compared to the PAE abstaining group (36.8%; p?=?0.08).Conclusion: In this study, PAE was not associated with NAS severity; however, further examination in a larger study is needed. |
| |
| Keywords: | Alcohol methadone neonatal abstinence syndrome opioids pregnancy |
|
|
