The opioid epidemic in the United States has led to a significant increase in the incidence of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS); however, the understanding of long-term consequences of NOWS is limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate post-discharge healthcare utilization in infants with NOWS and examine the association between NOWS severity and healthcare utilization. A retrospective cohort design was used to ascertain healthcare utilization in the first year after birth-related discharge using the CERNER Health Facts® database. ICD-9/ICD-10 diagnostic codes were used to identify live births and to classify infants into two study groups: NOWS and uncomplicated births (a 25% random sample). Evaluated outcomes included rehospitalization, emergency department (ED) visits within 30-days and one-year after discharge, and a composite one-year utilization event (either hospitalization or emergency department visit during that year). NOWS severity was operationalized as pharmacologic treatment, length of hospitalization, and medical conditions often associated with NOWS. In 3,526 infants with NOWS (restricted to gestational age ≥ 33 weeks), NOWS severity was associated with an increase in composite one-year utilization (OR: 1.1; 95% CI: 1.04–1.2) after adjusting for prematurity, sepsis, jaundice, use of antibiotics, infant sex, insurance status, race, hospital bed size, year of birth, and census division. In a subset of full-term infants (3008 with NOWS and 88,452 uncomplicated births), having a NOWS diagnosis was associated with higher odds of a 30-day (OR: 1.6; 95% CI: 1.03–2.4) and one-year rehospitalization (OR: 1.6; 95% CI: 1.1–2.4) after adjusting for infant sex, race, type of medical insurance, hospital location, census division, year of primary encounter, hospital bed size, and medical conditions. This study found higher healthcare utilization during the first year of life in infants diagnosed with NOWS, especially those with severe NOWS. Findings suggest a need for closer post-discharge follow-up and management of infants with NOWS.

美国阿片类药物的流行导致新生儿阿片类药物戒断综合征（NOWS）的发病率显着增加；然而，对NOWS的长期后果的理解是有限的。本研究的目的是评估NOWS婴儿出院后的医疗保健利用情况，并检查NOWS严重程度与医疗保健利用之间的关联。回顾性队列设计用于使用 CERNER Health Facts® 数据库确定出生相关出院后第一年的医疗保健使用情况。ICD-9/ICD-10 诊断代码用于识别活产并将婴儿分为两个研究组：NOWS 和无并发症分娩（25% 随机样本）。评估结果包括再住院、出院后 30 天内和一年内急诊科 (ED) 就诊、和复合的一年使用事件（该年住院或急诊科就诊）。NOWS 的严重性被操作为药物治疗、住院时间和通常与 NOWS 相关的医疗条件。在 3,526 名患有 NOWS 的婴儿（限制为胎龄 ≥ 33 周）中，在调整早产、败血症、黄疸、使用抗生素、婴儿性别、保险状况、种族、病床大小、出生年份和人口普查部门。在足月婴儿的一个子集中（3008 名 NOWS 和 88,452 名无并发症分娩），NOWS 诊断与更高的 30 天（OR：1.6；95% CI：1.03-2.4）和一年再住院几率相关（OR：1.6；95% CI：1.1-2。4) 在调整婴儿性别、种族、医疗保险类型、医院位置、人口普查部门、初诊年份、医院床位大小和医疗条件后。这项研究发现，诊断为NOWS的婴儿，尤其是患有严重NOWS的婴儿，在出生后第一年的医疗保健利用率更高。研究结果表明需要对患有NOWS的婴儿进行更密切的出院后随访和管理。