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Evaluating the effect of hospital setting on outcomes for neonatal abstinence syndrome

Journal of Perinatology volume 40, pages 1483–1488 (2020)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objectives

This study aims to evaluate the impact of hospital setting on outcomes for infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome.

Study design

We conducted a retrospective study in two hospitals and three different hospital units. The inpatient group (n = 60) was managed on general inpatient floors, the NICU group (n = 50) was managed primarily in an NICU, and the combination group (n = 49) was managed in both NICU and inpatient units. The primary outcome was length of stay. Secondary outcomes included breastfeeding rates, morphine usage rates, and hospital costs.

Results

The length of stay in the inpatient group (8.5 days) was significantly lower than the combination group (18 days) and NICU group (23 days) (p < 0.01). The inpatient group had significantly lower rates of morphine treatment and hospital costs with no difference in breastfeeding rates.

Conclusions

Infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome had a significantly shorter length of stay and less use of morphine when managed on inpatient units versus NICU.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the resident and nursing staff at YNHCH for their tireless care of this patient population and Emilia VandenBroek for assistance with the paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Matthew R. Grossman, Adam K. Berkwitt, Rachel R. Osborn, Brett V. Citarella, Daniela Hochreiter & Matthew J. Bizzarro

Authors
  1. Matthew R. Grossman
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  2. Adam K. Berkwitt
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  3. Rachel R. Osborn
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  4. Brett V. Citarella
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  5. Daniela Hochreiter
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  6. Matthew J. Bizzarro
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Contributions

All authors approved the final paper as submitted and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work. MRG conceptualized and designed the project, drafted the initial paper, coordinated data collection and approved the final paper. AKB and RRO helped design the project, collected data, critically reviewed the paper and approved the final paper. DH and BVC collected data, critically reviewed the paper and approved the final paper. MJB helped design the project, critically reviewed the paper and approved the final paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matthew R. Grossman.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Grossman, M.R., Berkwitt, A.K., Osborn, R.R. et al. Evaluating the effect of hospital setting on outcomes for neonatal abstinence syndrome. J Perinatol 40, 1483–1488 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-020-0621-5

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