Evidence · Randomised trial
Clonidine as Monotherapy for Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome: A Randomized Trial.
- Comfort and nursing care
- Medical
- Neonatal abstinence syndrome
- Nursing
- Postnatal and transitional care
Summary
Randomised clinical trial comparing oral clonidine with oral morphine as first-line monotherapy for neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome in infants of 35 weeks' gestation or more with prenatal opioid exposure requiring pharmacotherapy. Primary outcomes were length of treatment and neurobehavioural performance on the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scales. Length of treatment and final neurobehavioural scores did not differ significantly between groups, although more clonidine-treated infants needed adjunct therapy. The authors suggest clonidine is an effective non-opioid option and call for further work on optimal dosing.
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