Suchergebnisse

<i>Background:</i> Opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) is widely used to treat pregnant women with a history of opioid dependence. This study investigated whether maternal methadone/buprenorphine dose and nicotine use in pregnancy affects the occurrence and duration of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in the infant. <i>Methods:</i> Forty-one pregnant women from OMT programmes in Norway who gave birth between January 2005 and January 2007 were enrolled in a national prospective study. Thirty-eight women (81% of the population) were interviewed in the last trimester of pregnancy and 3 months after delivery. Data from the European Addiction Severity Index and a questionnaire measuring enrolled birth information were compared with medical records and urine analyses. <i>Results:</i> Treatment requiring NAS occurred in 58% of the methadone-exposed and in 67% of the buprenorphine-exposed infants. There was no significant relationship between a maternal dose of methadone or buprenorphine in pregnancy and NAS treatment duration for the infant. The mean number of cigarettes consumed correlated significantly with NAS treatment duration for the methadone group. Birth weight for the methadone group was approximately 200 g above international findings despite high doses during pregnancy. <i>Conclusions:</i> Maternal methadone/buprenorphine dose predicted neither the occurrence nor the need for NAS treatment for the infant.

Background: The tapering of methadone or buprenorphine during pregnancy is an understudied and controversial issue. The aim of this study was to determine to what extent women tapered their opioid medication dose during pregnancy and what the neonatal outcomes were for those who tapered compared to the women who did not. Methods: The study was a mixed prospective/retrospective national cohort study of 123 Norwegian women in opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) during pregnancy and their neonates. A standardized questionnaire was administered to the women and medical information that could be used for verification was collected from hospitals and municipalities. Results: Two of the women came off the OMT-medication during pregnancy and another 15% tapered their OMT-medication dose more than 50%. The birth weights of methadone-exposed neonates of the women who tapered more than 50% were significantly higher than for the methadone-exposed neonates of the women tapering between 11 and 50%. No other significant differences were found. Conclusion: Pregnant women in OMT who taper their OMT-medication dose should be monitored closely. We need studies that document the maternal well-being and fetal safety of maternal tapering of the OMT-medication during pregnancy.