Neonatal abstinence syndrome: Neurobehavior at 6 weeks of age in infants with or without pharmacological treatment for withdrawal

This study assessed neurobehavioral development using the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale in 6‐week old infants with prenatal methadone exposure who did (NAS+; n = 23) or did not (NAS−; n = 16) require pharmacological treatment for NAS severity determined by Finnegan Scale. An unexposed, demographically similar group of infants matched for age served as comparison (COMP; n = 21). NAS+, but not NAS− group, had significantly lower scores on the regulation (p < .01) and quality of movement (p < .01) summary scales than the COMP group. The NAS+ and NAS− groups had higher scores on the stress‐abstinence scale than the COMP group (p < .05). NAS diagnosis (NAS +) was associated with poorer regulation and quality of movement at 6 weeks of age compared to infants without prenatal methadone exposure from the same demographic.
Source: Developmental Psychobiology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research