title: Neonatal outcome in infants with evidence of fetal exposure to opiates, cocaine, and cannabinoids.
abstract: This study evaluated the neonatal outcome of infants with evidence of fetal exposure to cocaine, opiates, and cannabinoids. Subjects were from the newborn nursery of an inner-city university teaching hospital. Meconium from 141 infants admitted to the full-term nursery was analyzed for metabolites of opiates, cocaine, and cannabinoids. The population was 72% African-American; 82% had medical assistance; history of drug use was reported in the medical records in 18%; mean maternal age was 24.2 years; mean birth weight was 3,234 +/- 502 g; and neonatal abstinence syndrome was reported in 7%. Meconium analysis data showed the following: 52.5% were drug-free; cocaine was present in 31%, opiates in 18% (cocaine and/or opiates 39%), and cannabinoids in 17%. In 38 infants in whom urine toxicology was obtained for clinical indications, meconium was more sensitive than urine in detecting drug exposure (55.3% vs 31.5%). There was no significant difference between cocaine/opiate-exposed and drug-free infants in race, socioeconomic status, maternal age, birth weight, head circumference, length, and Apgar scores. Cocaine/opiate-exposed infants had greater length of stay and increased frequency of maternal sexually transmitted diseases during pregnancy, with a trend toward a higher percent with fetal distress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore 21201.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rothblum
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hebel
mesh_terms: D002186:Cannabinoids; D003042:Cocaine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008470:Meconium / Q000737:chemistry; D009294:Narcotics; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders
chemical_list: D002186:Cannabinoids; D009294:Narcotics; D003042:Cocaine