Tuesday 15 May 2018

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: A brief study

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome is a variable, complex, and incompletely understood spectrum of signs of neonatal behavioral dysregulation and is the commonly referred term for a newborn infant with an opioid use disorder or taking other substances at risk for drug withdrawal.
Opioid refers to natural and synthetic substances with morphine-like activities that activate mu-opioid receptors in the central nervous system and gastrointestinal tract and the opioid dependent pregnant women with substance use disorders are generally maintained on methadone which provides multiple benefits, including improved prenatal care, reduced fetal mortality and improved fetal growth and

NAS may occur when a pregnant women takes drugs such as heroin, codeine, oxycodone, methadone or buprenorphine.  In addition to opioids, use of drugs like Antidepressants and Benzodiazepines can lead to NAS. Signs and symptoms differ for every baby and most appear within 3 days of birth & some appear right after birth or within a few weeks of birth.
NAS can be tested by using Neonatal Abstinence Scoring System that gives points for each NAS symptom depending on how severe it is; bowel movements; and baby's urine.
Two major types of NAS are Prenatal or Maternal use of substances that result in withdrawal symptoms in the newborn & Postnatal NAS secondary to discontinuation of medications such as fentanyl or morphine used fir pain therapy in the newborn.
To know more, PS: https://goo.gl/EdJLp3  

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