Sublingual Buprenorphine Treatment for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome - Pilot Study

The Problem: Infants who are born to mothers taking or abusing opiates frequently suffer from neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) after birth. They often have withdrawal symptoms which can be life threatening if untreated. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends opioid replacement for the treatment of these symptoms in newborns. Buprenorphine (BNP) has gained widespread use in the treatment of adult opioid dependence. One of the reasons BNP is so appealing is because of its safety profile in comparison to the other drugs in its class (opiates). It has less respiratory depression and a lower level of physical dependence than the other opioids. BNP has recently been trialed, in its sublingual form, as a treatment for newborns with NAS. In two trials by the same group, there was a significant reduction in both the length of treatment and in-patient hospital days in infants treated with BNP in comparison to infants treated with morphine.

In both of these studies, mother/infant pairs were excluded if the mother was dual dependent on opiates and benzodiazepines (BZDs). This is not an insignificant population. BZDs are frequently prescribed during pregnancy to treat anxiety and panic disorder in women who are taking methadone or BNP for opioid replacement therapy. BZDs are also common drugs of abuse. It has been estimated that 22-47% of mothers whose infants are diagnosed with NAS used both BZDs and opiates during the pregnancy. These infants have a protracted NAS with longer hospitalization in comparison to infants exposed to an opioid alone. There are conflicting reports in the literature regarding the safety of concomitant use of BNP and BZDs. In both adults and children the combination of BNP and BZD prolongs respiratory depression in non-drug abusers. In addition, autopsy findings in six adults who were drug abusers were linked to concomitant use of BNP and BZD by analysis at autopsy. On the other hand in adult tapering trials comparing BNP with methadone in dual-dependent adults there were no adverse events in the BNP group, opiate withdrawal scores were lower and the adults were more likely to complete treatment. Thus while treatment of NAS with BNP may be desirable and efficacious in opiate tapering protocols, it is imperative that we look specifically at this group of infants with dual exposure to opioids and BZDs. This is a single site, un-blinded observational safety study. Study participants will be recruited from eligible participants who are born at Bayfront Medical Center Baby Place and subsequently admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at All Children's' Hospital (ACH) for treatment of NAS. Data from this pilot safety trial will be used to apply for NIH funding to conduct a large randomized double-blind trial to determine the efficacy of BNP versus morphine for the treatment of NAS.

The Research Hypothesis: BNP can be used safely to treat NAS in the subgroup of infants whose mothers were taking both an opiate and a BZD in the week prior to delivery.

The Importance of the Research: BNP is emerging as a "safer" and more efficient drug for adult detoxification and maintenance programs and is showing promise for the treatment of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). In the most recent published trial comparing BNP to morphine in infants with NAS, the length of stay (LOS) was decreased by 40% in the BNP group (from an average of 38 days in the morphine group to 23 days in the BNP group). No major adverse effects were reported in either treatment group. As is common in early trials, the experimental group was restricted - specifically maternal BZD use was an exclusion criteria. The rational given was that length of stay is known to be longer for infants whose mothers were also using BZDs. However, this is not an insignificant population. It has been reported that 22-47% of opiate users are co-using BZDs. At ACH, the incidence of infants exposed to both classes of drugs has ranged from 15-35%. Before BNP becomes the standard of care it is important to look closely at this group of infants and either caution the use of BNP or demonstrate its safety. This pilot trial is designed to determine if infants who have dual in-utero exposures to opiates and BZDs can be safely treated with BNP.