Bringing attention to a need for a standardized treatment and weaning protocol for neonatal abstinence syndrome

Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) due to in-utero opioid exposure has increased 5-fold in the U.S. since 2000, with an incidence of 5.8 per 1,000 live births. NAS now accounts for 3% of all admissions to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), with associated NICU hospitalization costs of approximately $53,000 per infant. Fifty percent to 80% of opioid-exposed infants require extensive pharmacologic treatment for withdrawal symptoms with an average length of hospitalization of three weeks, with a large range from one week to over a month. This variability is due to a variety of maternal-infant factors such as methadone versus buprenorphine exposure, infant feeding method, ability to room-in with the infant, genetic factors, and co-exposures to nicotine, illicit drugs, and psychiatric medications.