Article Figures & Tables
Figures
- Figure 1:
Annual incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome in Ontario, 1992–2011. NAS = neonatal abstinence syndrome.
- Figure 2:
Opioid prescribing 1 to 2 years, 100 days to 1 year and 100 days before delivery in mothers of infants with a diagnosis of neonatal abstinence syndrome between 2007 and 2011 (n = 927 deliveries). ODB = Ontario drug benefit.
Table 1: Medications prescribed to Ontario Drug Benefit beneficiaries before the birth of an infant with neonatal abstinence syndrome Drug Time period before birth; no. (%) 1–2 yr 101 d to 1 yr 100 d Any opioid 619 (66.8) 753 (81.2) 653 (70.4) Opioid treatment for drug dependence 406 (43.8) 570 (61.5) 547 (59.0) Methadone only 265 (28.6) 428 (46.2) 494 (53.3) Methadone and another opioid 141 (15.2) 142 (15.3) 53 (5.7) Nonmethadone opioid* 354 (38.2) 325 (35.0) 159 (17.2) Oxycodone 220 (23.7) 185 (20.0) 85 (9.2) Hydromorphone 33 (3.6) 29 (3.1) 17 (1.8) Morphine 35 (3.8) 37 (4.0) 30 (3.2) Fentanyl 16 (1.7) 13 (1.4) 10 (1.1) Codeine 196 (21.1) 161 (17.4) 51 (5.5) Other 11 (1.2) ≤ 5† ≤ 5† Other psychotropic medication 495 (53.4) 511 (55.1) 283 (30.5) Sedative–hypnotic agent 247 (26.6) 232 (25.0) 123 (13.3) Barbiturates 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) Anticonvulsant agent 16 (1.7) 14 (1.5) ≤ 5† Cyclic antidepressant 178 (19.2) 157 (16.9) 38 (4.1) Noncyclic antidepressant 324 (34.9) 312 (33.7) 155 (16.7) Antipsychotic agent 164 (17.7) 165 (17.8) 85 (9.2) Stimulant 34 (3.7) 31 (3.3) 16 (1.7) Lithium 16 (1.7) 17 (1.8) ≤ 5† *Excluding buprenorphine. †In accordance with institutional policy, the exact number is suppressed when the cell size is ≤ 5.
Table 2: Characteristics of mothers who were beneficiaries of the public drug plan and their infants in cases of neonatal abstinence syndrome, Jan. 1, 2007 to Dec. 31, 2010 Characteristic No. (%)* p value Opioids prescribed in the 100 d before birth
n = 421Opioids not prescribed in the 100 d before birth
n = 197Infants Gestational age, wk, median (IQR) 39 (37–40) 38 (37–40) 0.15 Birth weight, g, median (IQR) 2990 (2685–3391) 2947 (2615–3370) 0.28 Male sex 202 (48.0) 97 (49.2) 0.77 Mothers Age, yr, median (IQR) 27.5 (24.5–31.8) 27.8 (24.7–32.3) 0.46 Cesarean delivery 127 (30.2) 43 (21.8) 0.03 Neighbourhood income quintile Lowest 210 (50.0) 83 (42.1) 0.07 Second lowest 83 (19.7) 50 (25.4) 0.11 Middle 58 (13.8) 31 (15.7) 0.52 Second highest 38 (9.0) 19 (9.6) 0.80 Highest 31 (7.4) 12 (6.1) 0.56 First NAS-related admission to hospital Birth 396 (94.1) 175 (88.8) 0.02 Infant admission to NICU 339 (80.5) 155 (78.7) 0.59 Length of stay, d, median (IQR) 19 (9–31) 10 (5–20) < 0.0001 Year following birth (infant) Mortality ≤ 5† 0 (0) NA Outpatient physician encounters, median (IQR) 25 (16–38) 17 (12–27) < 0.001 Admissions to hospital, no., median (IQR) 1 (1–1) 1 (1–1) 0.834 Visits to emergency department, no., median (IQR) 1 (0–2) 0 (0–2) 0.004 Note: IQR = interquartile range, NA = not available, NAS = neonatal abstinence syndrome, NICU = neonatal intensive care unit.
*Unless otherwise indicated.
†In accordance with institutional policy, the exact number is suppressed when the cell size is ≤ 5.
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