Frequency of Newborn Fentanyl Exposure and Coexposure to Other Drugs of Abuse

Neonatal Research Poster | Volume 51, Issue 4, Supplement, S92, July 01, 2022

Prenatal exposure to fentanyl may lead to neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), a constellation of symptoms observed when newborns begin withdrawing from addictive substances such as opioids. The use of umbilical cord (UC) tissue segments for newborn toxicology has been increasing due to its apparent long detection window, sensitivity, and ease of collection. However, very little has been reported in the literature concerning the prevalence of in-utero exposure to fentanyl and coexposure to other commonly abused substances. The specific aims of this retrospective study are twofold. We will report prevalence of neonatal exposure to fentanyl for a nationwide high-risk population using UC submitted to a national reference laboratory for routine forensic toxicology analysis and the coexposure patterns observed for these fentanyl-exposed neonates.

Resource

Shanthi Hariharan, MS; Joseph T. Jones, Ph.D., NRCC-TC; Mary J. Jones, BS, NRCC-TC (2022). JOGNN: Scholarship for the Care of Women, Childbearing Families & Newborns in cooperation with AWHONN: Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses. Overview, key findings in a peer-reviewed journal on prenatal exposure to fentanyl use. Copyright: © 2022 Published by Elsevier Inc.