Standard medication for newborns exposed to opioids during pregnancy may be least effective

JAMA Pediatrics
Published January 22, 2019 11:00 ET (News release from JAMA Pediatrics)
The number of newborns born addicted to opioids because of exposure in the womb tripled in Canada between 2003 and 2014. This study analyzed results from 18 clinical trials to treat newborns for opioid withdrawal, a condition called newborn abstinence syndrome. Researchers found morphine, the standard of care in most hospitals, was consistently among the least effective treatments, while buprenorphine appeared to be associated with the shortest length of treatment without additional adverse events.

Corresponding author: Marsha Campbell-Yeo, Dalhousie University – marsha.campbell-yeo@dal.ca