This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Costs rise for neonatal abstinence syndrome
During a 3-year period, costs for treating infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome increased from $1.1 million to $1.8 million annually, according to a study recently published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine.
Researchers from the University of Florida performed a retrospective chart review to calculate hospitalization costs related to neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) from December 2008 through November 2011. Eighty-six patients in the cohort (n = 160) showed in utero exposure to methadone, and nine were exposed to buprenorphine during pregnancy to manage maternal opioid addiction. Forty-nine patients also tested positive to short-acting opioids. Nine others were exposed to substances that included cocaine, marijuana or alprazolam.
Nearly 50% to 60% of patients exposed to opioids developed NAS symptoms that required hospitalization for a mean duration of 23 days, according to a related press release. These costs were approximately $40,500 more per patient than those hospitalized without NAS for 1 to 2 days. Opioid-exposed patients, not requiring pharmacological interventions, were hospitalized for about 5 days. This resulted in a $2,469 variance compared with healthy infants.
Another recent study showed a fivefold increase in the prevalence of NAS between 1998 and 2009. Earlier research conducted in 2012 reported that hospital costs for 78% of infants with NAS are largely paid by state Medicaid programs.
“If the burden of the societal costs of treating NAS is to be reduced … definitive steps will need to involve strong proactive measures, such as screening pregnant women for drug use, offering substance treatment for those who need it, and encouraging women on chronic opioid therapy for pain and those receiving [opioid agonist treatment] for dependence to actively engage in family planning and contraception,” Kay Roussos-Ross, MD, from the department of obstetrics and gynecology and the department of psychiatry at the University of Florida College of Medicine, and colleagues wrote.
They said a standardized approach to managing patients with NAS could reduce societal costs and NAS symptoms. Studies are warranted to determine if the use of buprenorphine vs. methadone improves fetal outcomes. – by Stephanie Viguers
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
