The Johns Hopkins trial additionally discovered that infants uncovered to buprenorphine have been hospitalized for much less time than infants uncovered to methadone. Nonetheless, the research had a comparatively small pattern measurement with solely 175 individuals, 86 of whom acquired buprenorphine, leaving scientists with many unanswered questions.
Within the present research, lead writer Elizabeth Suarez, PhD, who was a postdoctoral scholar at Brigham and Girls’s Hospital when the research was carried out, assessed publicity to buprenorphine and methadone in early being pregnant (by gestational week 19), late being pregnant (gestational week 20 by the day earlier than supply) and the 30 days earlier than supply (when drug publicity impacts neonatal abstinence syndrome).
Outcomes confirmed that neonatal abstinence syndrome occurred in 52% of infants uncovered to buprenorphine within the 30 days earlier than supply and in 69.2% of these uncovered to methadone. Preterm start, when a child is born earlier than 37 weeks of being pregnant, occurred in 14.4% of infants uncovered to buprenorphine in early being pregnant and in 24.9% of infants uncovered to methadone throughout the identical time-frame.
Higher start weight with buprenorphine
Twelve p.c of infants whose moms took buprenorphine in early being pregnant have been small for his or her gestational age, in contrast with 15.3% of these uncovered to methadone. Lastly, 8.3% of infants uncovered to buprenorphine in early being pregnant had an abnormally low start weight, versus 14.9% of these uncovered to methadone.
The researchers discovered that publicity to buprenorphine versus methadone didn’t have an effect on whether or not infants have been delivered by Cesarean part, or if the mom skilled life-threatening medical situations attributable to or aggravated by the being pregnant. In addition they thought of many potential confounding variables, together with the mom’s psychological well being, any power coexisting situations, different treatment use, social points reminiscent of homelessness and home violence, and people’ demographics.
“We have been capable of generate exact estimates relating to the helpful results of buprenorphine,” Bateman stated. “It’s a transparent suggestion that these are causal results and that they’re not confounded by affected person traits which are completely different between the 2 teams.”
The hope is that the analysis will assist suppliers choose the correct remedy for pregnant ladies affected by opioid habit.
“The selection of remedy for opioid use dysfunction actually must be individualized,” Bateman stated. “Some sufferers could profit from buprenorphine, and a few could profit from methadone. However all issues being equal, our knowledge means that obstetrical outcomes are higher in sufferers who’re handled with buprenorphine throughout being pregnant in contrast with methadone.”
The analysis was funded by the Nationwide Institute on Drug Abuse (grant R01DA049822).
