Table 2.
Frequencies (%) or means (standard errors) and P values for the two planned contrasts for the outcome measures in the three treatment groups (n = 25)
| Outcome measure | Methadone-assisted withdrawal (n = 8) |
Methadone (n = 12) |
Buprenorphine (n = 5) |
Methadone-assisted withdrawal vs
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Methadone P |
Buprenorphine P |
||||
| Neonatal outcomes | |||||
| Treated for NAS [yes] | 2 (25%) | 8 (66.7%) | 2 (40%) | 0.079 | 0.571 |
| NAS peak score | 7.0 (1.4) | 13.7 (1.2) | 10.2 (1.8) | 0.002 | 0.182 |
| Total amount of morphine for NAS (mg) | 0.2 (0.1) | 82.8 (3.2) | 8.2 (2.0) | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Days of infant hospital stay | 7.0 (3.4) | 24.2 (5.1) | 9.0 (4.8) | 0.019 | 0.727 |
| Head circumference (cm) | 33.1 (0.7) | 32.8 (0.6) | 33.0 (0.9) | 0.701 | 0.901 |
| Days medicated for NAS | 3.9 (1.4) | 31.5 (2.0) | 12.0 (2.4) | <0.001 | 0.008 |
| Birth weight (gm) | 3023.0 (220.9) | 2849.6 (180.4) | 2911.0 (279.4) | 0.549 | 0.756 |
| Infant length (cm) | 48.7 (1.1) | 48.0 (0.9) | 48.8 (1.3) | 0.633 | 0.948 |
| Pre-term (<37 weeks) birth [yes] | 3 (37.5%) | 4 (25%) | 1 (20%) | 0.848 | 0.512 |
| Gestational age at delivery (weeks) | 38.1 (0.9) | 37.2 (0.8) | 39.0 (1.2) | 0.414 | 0.575 |
| Apgar score at 1 minute | 8.4 (0.6) | 7.2 (0.5) | 7.6 (0.8) | 0.127 | 0.445 |
| Apgar score at 5 minutes | 9.0 (0.4) | 8.1 (0.3) | 8.6 (0.5) | 0.092 | 0.565 |
| Maternal outcomes | |||||
| Cesarean section [yes] | 1 (12.5%) | 3 (25%) | 1 (20%) | 0.501 | 0.718 |
| Maternal weight gain (kg) | 5.5 (3.0) | 7.4 (2.1) | 10.7 (3.2) | 0.606 | 0.248 |
| Non-normal presentation [yes] | 1 (12.5%) | 1 (8.3%) | 0 (0%) | 0.762 | 0.947 |
| Analgesia during delivery [yes] | 6 (75%) | 10 (83.3%) | 3 (60%) | 0.650 | 0.571 |
| Drug screen at delivery [positive] | 1 (14.3%) | 2 (16.7%) | 0 (0%) | 0.891 | 0.958 |
| Medical complications at delivery [yes] | 4 (50%) | 9 (75%) | 1 (20%) | 0.258 | 0.295 |
| Number of prenatal obstetrical visits | 10 (1.5) | 10.1 (1.2) | 10.2 (1.9) | 0.966 | 0.935 |
Notes: Estimates in the table are f (%) or mean (SE). Means for total amount of morphine for NAS and days medicated for NAS were estimated only for those neonates treated for NAS, based on the use of a zero-inflated Poisson regression model (see text for details). One case from the methadone-assisted withdrawal group was missing a value for drug screen at delivery. Significant effects are noted with P values in bold.
Abbreviation: NAS, Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.