US babies born in withdrawal from opioids quadruples in nine years, study finds

The rate of newborns admitted to US neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) with neonatal abstinence syndrome nearly quadrupled in the nine years from 2004 to 2013, from seven cases in 1000 admissions to 27 in 1000, a study has found.1

As a result of the increased admissions and longer NICU stays, care for infants with the syndrome accounted for 4% of all NICU hospital stays nationwide in 2013—a sevenfold increase from 2004, the researchers wrote.

Neonatal abstinence syndrome is a drug withdrawal syndrome most commonly caused …