Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-2016
Abstract
Opioid use in pregnancy has increased dramatically over the past decade. Since prenatal opioid use is associated with numerous obstetrical and neonatal complications, this now has become a major public health problem. In particular, in utero opioid exposure can result in neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) which is a serious condition characterized by central nervous system hyperirritability and autonomic nervous system dysfunction. The present review seeks to define current practices regarding the approach to the pregnant mother and neonate with prenatal opiate exposure. Although the cornerstone of prenatal management of opioid dependence is opioid maintenance therapy, the ideal agent has yet to be definitively established. Pharmacologic management of NAS is also highly variable and may include an opioid, barbiturate, and/or α-agonist. Genetic factors appear to be associated with the incidence and severity of NAS. Establishing pharmacogenetic risk factors for the development of NAS has the potential for creating opportunities for "personalized genomic medicine" and novel, individualized therapeutic interventions.
Recommended Citation
Kraft, Walter K.; Stover, Megan W.; and Davis, Jonathan M., "Neonatal abstinence syndrome: Pharmacologic strategies for the mother and infant." (2016). Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Faculty Papers. Paper 75.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/petfp/75
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
PubMed ID
26791055
Comments
This article has been peer reviewed. It is the authors' final version prior to publication in Seminars in Perinatology
Volume 40, Issue 3, April 2016, Pages 203–212.
The published version is available at DOI: 10.1053/j.semperi.2015.12.007. Copyright © Elsevier