Neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome and implications for pain assessment in the newborn: a scoping review
Background: During the last decade, an increase in maternal opioid use has resulted in newborns requiring management for withdrawal. Typical symptoms of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome [NOWS] are difficult to distinguish from pain behaviors, and management measures involve both distress/pain ass...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Global Pediatrics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667009723000593 |
| Summary: | Background: During the last decade, an increase in maternal opioid use has resulted in newborns requiring management for withdrawal. Typical symptoms of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome [NOWS] are difficult to distinguish from pain behaviors, and management measures involve both distress/pain assessment as well as management by healthcare personnel. Both factors are independently known to have an adverse impact on neurodevelopmental pathways in neonates with NOWS. This scoping review aimed to explore the literature available regarding NOWS and its implications for pain assessment. Methods: This scoping review has been conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute [JBI] methodology. A comprehensive search strategy using 5 databases was employed. Two reviewers assessed full-text articles based on predefined criteria. Results: The initial literature search resulted in a total of 4794 articles of which 7 articles were related to distress/pain in NOWS. Pain assessment measures included both subjective scoring methods and objective measures. An additional 4 preclinical studies were identified, but were not included in the results. Conclusions: Structured and targeted tools for pain scoring are needed for this population of at-risk newborns. The overlapping mechanisms of pain perception and opioid withdrawal like sympathetic stimulation make it necessary to explore objective methods to assess pain in NOWS. |
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| ISSN: | 2667-0097 |