Increased pain sensitivity and the development of opioid tolerance complicate the treatment of pain experienced by opioid maintained pregnant women during delivery and the perinatal period. The aim of the present study was to investigate differences in pain management of opioid maintained compared to non-dependent pregnant women during delivery and the postpartum period. 40 deliveries of 37 opioid dependent women enrolled in a double-blind, double-dummy randomized controlled trial (RCT) examining the safety and efficacy of methadone (mean dose at the time of delivery = 63.89 mg) and buprenorphine (mean dose at the time of delivery = 14.05 mg) during pregnancy were analyzed and participants were matched to a non-dependent comparison group of 80 pregnant women. Differences in pain management (opioid and non-opioid analgesic medication) during delivery and perinatal period were analyzed. Following cesarean delivery opioid maintained women received significantly less opioid analgesics (day of delivery p = 0.038; day 1: p = 0.02), NSAIDs were administered more frequently to opioid dependent patients than to the comparison group during cesarean section and on the third day postpartum. Significantly higher nicotine consumption in the group of opioid dependent women had a strong influence on the retrieved results, and might be considered as an independent factor of altered pain experience. Differences in pain treatment became evident when comparing opioid maintained women to healthy controls. These differences might be based on psychosocial consequences of opioid addiction along with the lack of an interdisciplinary consensus on pain treatment protocols for opioid dependent patients.

Background Chronic medical conditions such as opioid dependence require evidence-based treatment recommendations. However, pregnant women are underrepresented in clinical trials. We describe the first within-subject comparison of maternal and neonatal outcomes for methadone vs. buprenorphine exposed pregnancies. Though methadone is the established treatment of pregnant opioid dependent women, recent investigations have shown a trend for a milder neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) under buprenorphine. However, it is not only the choice of maintenance medication that determines the occurrence of NAS, other factors such as maternal metabolism, illicit substance abuse and nicotine consumption also influence its severity and duration and represent confounding factors in the assessment of randomized clinical trials. Case series description Three women who were part of the European cohort of a randomized, double-blind multicenter trial with a contingency management tool [the Maternal Opioid Treatment: Human Experimental Research (MOTHER) study], each had two consecutive pregnancies and were maintained on either methadone or buprenorphine for their first and then the respective opposite, still-blinded medication for their second pregnancy. Birth measurements, the total neonatal abstinence score, the total amounts of medication used to treat NAS and the days of NAS treatment duration were assessed. Results Both medications were effective and safe in reducing illicit opioid relapse and avoiding preterm labour. Methadone maintenance yielded to a significantly higher neonatal birth weight. Data patterns suggest that buprenorphine-exposure was associated with lower neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) scores. Findings from this unique case series are consistent with earlier reports using between-group analyses. Conclusions Buprenorphine has the potential to become an established treatment alternative to methadone for pregnant opioid dependent women. Under special consideration of ethical boundaries, psychopharmacological treatment during pregnancy must be addressed as an integral part of clinical research projects in order to optimize treatment for women and neonates.

Objective Prior studies have shown an increased vulnerability among males, to adverse outcomes during the postnatal period. The majority of children exposed to opioids and other medication in utero develop a neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), yet individual predisposition for NAS is poorly understood. This investigation examines the role of neonatal sex in the postnatal period, for neonates exposed to standardized opioid maintenance treatment in utero with a focus on the neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) regarding severity, medication requirements and duration. Patients and Methods This is a secondary analysis of data collected in a prospective randomized, double-blind, double-dummy multi-center trial examining the comparative safety and efficacy of methadone and buprenorphine during pregnancy (Maternal Opioid Treatment: Human Experimental research MOTHER – study). 131 neonates born to opioid-dependent women randomized at six US sites (n=74) and one European site (n=37) were analyzed. Sex-based differences in birth weight, length, head circumference, NAS duration, NAS severity, and treatment parameters of full-term neonates were assessed. Results Males had a significantly higher birth weight (p=0.027) and head circumference (p=0.017) than females, with no significant sex difference in rates of preterm delivery. No significant sex-related differences were found for NAS development, severity, duration, or medication administered with non significant differences in concomitant drug consumption during pregnancy (p =0.959). Conclusions This unique prospective study shows similar postnatal vulnerability for both sexes, suggesting that factors other than sex are the major determinants of clinically significant NAS.

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The European trend of increased cocaine use could also be observed in Vienna. One of the greatest barriers for establishing adequate treatment settings for this target group is the difficulty to reach this population. In addition, multiple substance abuse seems to be one of the predominating patterns of cocaine consumption and this aspect should be integrated within treatment (in the treatment and scene groups additional heroin and benzodiapzepines abuse is observed, in the party group intensive alcohol consumption). The Viennese results are in line with those of the other European cities; however, it could not be confirmed that consumption of crack cocaine and binge play a similarly significant role as in cities such as Hamburg or London.