Buprenorphine-naloxone use in pregnancy for treatment of opioid dependence Retrospective cohort study of 30 patients

Objective To examine the maternal course and neonatal outcomes for women using buprenorphine-naloxone for opioid dependence in pregnancy. Design Retrospective cohort study comparing outcomes for the group of pregnant patients exposed to buprenorphine-naloxone with outcomes for those exposed to other narcotics and those not exposed to narcotics. Setting Northwestern Ontario obstetric program. Participants A total of 640 births in an 18-month period from July 1, 2013, to January 1, 2015. Main outcome measures Maternal outcomes included route and time of delivery, medical and surgical complications, out-of hospital deliveries, change in illicit drug use, and length of stay. Neonatal outcomes included stillbirths, incidence and severity of neonatal abstinence syndrome, birth weight, gestational age, Apgar scores, and incidence of congenital abnormalities. Results Thirty pregnant women used buprenorphine-naloxone for a mean (SD) of 18.8 (11.2) weeks; an additional 134 patients were exposed to other opioids; 476 pregnant women were not exposed to opioids. Maternal and neonatal outcomes were similar among the 3 groups, other than the expected clinically insignificant lower birth weights among those exposed to opioids other than buprenorphine-naloxone. Conclusion Buprenorphine-naloxone appears to be safe for use in pregnancy for opioid-dependence substitution therapy. Transferring a pregnant patient to another opioid agonist that has greater abuse potential might not be necessary.