Comparison of Postoperative Opioid Use in Mothers with Neonates in the Neonatal Intensive Care Versus in the Regular Nursery or Rooming In

Abstract

After receiving IRB approval, a retrospective chart review of 8136 women who delivered at an urban academic institution from January 2013-December 2018 was performed. Information regarding daily post-operative opioid use as well as the location of the neonate (NICU versus WBN) was collected. Post-operative opioid usage for mothers with neonates in WBN (Group A) was compared to usage in mothers with neonates in the NICU (Group B). Opioid usage was stratified into 24-hour blocks. Substance abusers and chronic opioid users were excluded.A subgroup analysis was performed for the indication of the NICU admission. Chi-square was used to analyze the data. ResultsAll post-operative patients (n =8136, comprised of 6509 patients in group A [WBN] and 1627 patients in group B [NICU]) were prescribed both opioids and non-narcotic analgesics. Both agents were used by 84% of mothers while 16% used only non-narcotic analgesics. No patients exclusively used opioids alone.During each 24 hour block, there were no statistically significant differences in opioid usage between the mothers with babies in the NICU versus the WBN (43% vs 45%, Post-Operative Day (POD) 1, 81% vs 80%, POD2, 72% vs 70%, POD3, 20% vs 23%, POD4) (Table 1).