Is Buprenorphine Maternal Dose Associated With Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Severity?

Buprenorphine is widely used to treat opioid use disorder in pregnancy, but studies disagree on whether the mother's dose affects how severe neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) is. This CME activity is based on a retrospective study in The American Journal on Addictions of 75 term babies treated for NOWS at two neonatal intensive care units. Babies whose mothers took higher buprenorphine doses had NOWS for longer: a median of 17 days, against 7 days at intermediate doses and 3 days at low doses. They also took longer to regain their birth weight and needed more morphine. The activity helps clinicians anticipate NOWS severity, plan neonatal care, and weigh the effects on the baby against the importance of keeping the mother stable during pregnancy.

Target Audience

Healthcare Professionals

Learning Objectives

  • Describe neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS), how it presents, and how its severity is assessed with the Lipsitz score.
  • Explain how the mother's buprenorphine dose during pregnancy relates to how severe NOWS is: how long it lasts, how long the baby takes to regain birth weight, and how much morphine treatment is needed.
  • Weigh the risk of more severe NOWS against the need to keep the mother stable and prevent relapse when choosing buprenorphine doses in pregnancy.

Activity Disclosure

No commercial support has been accepted related to the development or publication of this activity. This activity underwent peer review in line with the standards of editorial integrity and publication ethics.

Course summary

Available credit: 
  • 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™
Course opens: 
12/26/2024
Course expires: 
12/25/2027
Cost:
$0.00

Article Authors

Besnier Marc MD, Delouche Marion MD, Birault François PhD, Lebonheur Lakshmipriya MD

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

This activity underwent peer review in line with the standards of editorial integrity and publication ethics. Conflicts of interest have been identified and resolved in accordance with John Wiley and Sons, Inc.’s Policy on Activity Disclosure and Conflict of Interest.

 

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

John Wiley and Sons, Inc. designates this journal-based CME activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. For information on applicability and acceptance of continuing medical education credit for this activity, please consult your professional licensing board.

This activity is designed to be completed within 1 hour. To successfully earn credit, participants must complete the activity during the valid credit period, which is up to three years from initial publication. Additionally, up to 3 attempts and a score of 80% or better is needed to pass the post test and claim CC credit. [ACGME competency/CC category: Medical Knowledge].

Available Credit

  • 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™

Price

Cost:
$0.00
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