Long Term Outcomes of Infants with IUDE to Buprenorphine and Methadone

The purpose of this research project is to study newborns born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), a condition where a baby was exposed to drugs in utero and experiences withdrawal symptoms once born. Indiana has the highest infant mortality rate in the Midwest at 7.3%. In the US alone, a baby is born every 25 minutes with an opioid use disorder. We reviewed patient files from 2013-2016 in Wishard and Eskenazi, two hospitals who have different physical environments for their NICU. At this point, we are still awaiting approval for the study before we can begin collecting data. After the study is approved, we will begin collecting the data from Eskenazi and compare it to data already collected from Wishard. This data will include demographics, intrauterine medication exposure/NAS drug scores, comorbidities, medications received and length of stay. We believe the length of stay and length of treatment will be shortened in a private room with fewer distractions.

Supervisor: Dr. Jo Ann Matory
Department: Newborn Intensive Care Unit at Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Hospital