TABLE 2.
Number and Percentage of Units Using Original Finnegan Scoring, Modified Finnegan Scoring, the Neonatal Withdrawal Inventory, the Neonatal Abstinence Scoring System, or Other Scoring Scales to Aid in Decision-making Regarding Management of Infants With NOWS
| What Scoring System Does Your Unit Use to Aid in Management of Infants With In Utero Opiate Exposure? | NICU | Non-ICU | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. Units (n = 48) | Units, % (95% CI) | No. Units (n = 14) | Units, % (95% CI) | |
| Finnegan scoring, original | 8 | 17 (9–30) | 2 | 14 (4–40) |
| Finnegan scoring, modified | 35 | 73 (59–83) | 10 | 71 (45–88) |
| NWI | 2 | 4 (1–14) | 0 | 0 (0–22)a |
| NASS | 5 | 10 (5–22) | 1 | 7 (1–31) |
Adapted from Finnegan LP. Neonatal abstinence syndrome: assessment and pharmacotherapy. In: Nelson NM, ed. Current Therapy in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine. 2nd ed. Hamilton, Canada: BC Decker; 1990; Zahorodny W, Rom C, Whitney W, et al. The neonatal withdrawal inventory: a simplified score of newborn withdrawal. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 1998;19(2):89–93; and Finnegan LP, Connaughton JF Jr, Kron RE, Emich JP. Neonatal abstinence syndrome: assessment and management. Addict Dis. 1975;2(1–2):141–158. There were 62 responding units in total. Units may have reported the use of >1 scoring system. Two non-ICUs reported other scoring scales to aid in decision-making; 1 of these units reported using the Eat, Sleep, Console assessment method. No statistical differences were observed between the percentage of NICUs that responded affirmatively to each question and the percentage of non-ICUs that responded affirmatively to each question. NASS, Neonatal Abstinence Scoring System; NWI, Neonatal Withdrawal Inventory.
Modified Wilson CI.