Objectives The objectives of this study were to investigate factors associated with the development of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and to assess the implications for healthcare resources of infants born to drug-misusing women.Design Retrospective cohort study from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2006.Setting Inner-city maternity hospital providing dedicated multidisciplinary care to drug-misusing women.Population Four hundred and fifty singleton pregnancies of drugmisusing women prescribed substitute methadone in pregnancy.Methods Case note review.Main outcome measures Development of NAS and duration of infant hospital stay.Results 45.5% of infants developed NAS requiring pharmacological treatment. The odds ratio of the infant developing NAS was independently related to prescribed maternal methadone dose rather than associated polydrug misuse. Breastfeeding was associated with reduced odds of requiring treatment for NAS (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.34-0.88). Preterm birth did not influence the odds of the infant receiving treatment for NAS. 48.4% infants were admitted to the neonatal unit (NNU) 40% of these primarily for treatment of NAS. The median total hospital stay for all infants was 10 days (interquartile range 7-17 days). Infants born to methadone-prescribed drug-misusing mothers represented 2.9% of hospital births, but used 18.2% of NNU cot days.Conclusions Higher maternal methadone dose is associated with a higher incidence of NAS. Pregnant drug-misusing women should be encouraged and supported to breastfeed. Their infants are extremely vulnerable and draw heavily on healthcare resources.Keywords Breastfeeding, health resources, methadone, neonatal abstinence syndrome.
BackgroundNewborn bloodspot screening (NBS) for cystic fibrosis (CF) was introduced across the UK in 2007 but the impact on clinical outcomes and health inequalities for children with CF is unclear.MethodsWe undertook longitudinal analyses of UK CF registry data on over 3000 children with CF born between 2000 and 2015. Clinical outcomes were the trajectories of percent predicted forced expiratory volume in one second (%FEV1) from age 5, weight for age and body mass index (BMI) SD-scores from age one, and time to chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa (cPA) infection. Using mixed effects and time-to-event models we assessed the association of NBS with outcomes and potential interactions with childhood socioeconomic conditions, while adjusting for confounders.ResultsNBS was associated with higher average lung function trajectory (+1.56 FEV1 percentage points 95% CI 0.1 to 3.02, n=2216), delayed onset of cPA, and higher average weight trajectory intercept at age one (+0.16 SD; 95% CI 0.07 to 0.26, n=3267) but negative rate of weight change thereafter (−0.02 SD per year; 95% CI −0.03 to −0.00). We found no significant association of NBS with BMI or rate of change of lung function. There was no clear evidence of an impact of NBS on health inequalities early in life.ConclusionsChildren diagnosed with CF by NBS in the UK have better lung function and increased early weight but NBS does not appear to have narrowed early health inequalities.
Reduced fetal growth in infants of opioid-dependent mothers prescribed methadone maintenance in pregnancy is not fully explained by cigarette smoking, area deprivation, maternal age or parity.
It is widely accepted that maternal drug-exposed infants demonstrate excessive early weight loss, but this has not previously been quantified. Among 354 term, substitute methadone-exposed infants, median maximal weight losses were 10.2% and 8.5% for breast- and formula-fed infants, respectively (p=0.003). Weight loss was less in small for gestational age compared to appropriately grown infants (p<0.001). There was no association between maximal weight loss and plasma sodium concentration (p=0.807). Relative to non-drug exposed infants, weight loss was more marked in formula-fed infants, 48% of whom demonstrated weight loss in excess of the 95th centile (compared to 23% of exclusively breastfed infants; p<0.001). Median weight loss nadir was on day 5, excepting those infants exclusively breastfed (day 4). These data suggest that excessive neonatal weight loss among breastfed infants of drug-misusing mothers does not necessarily reflect poorly established lactation and may help to guide management of breast feeding in this population.
We reviewed the impact of ivacaftor on Scottish paediatric patients with cystic fibrosis ≥6 years of age after 12 months of treatment. Statistically significant improvements in FEV and body mass index and a reduction in sweat chloride, all comparable with previously published data were observed. The findings also suggested reduced use of intravenous antibiotics and oral antibiotics. No significant adverse effects were observed but a possible association with cataract formation could not be excluded. This review suggests that, in the short term at least, ivacaftor is effective and safe in paediatric patients ≥6 years of age with G551D.
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