Methadone offers better short-term outcomes compared with morphine for treating infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome, according to recently published research in JAMA Pediatrics.

“As the number of pregnant women exposed to opioids and other psychotropic medications has increased, so has the incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS),” Jonathan M. Davis, MD, vice-chair of pediatrics and chief of newborn medicine at the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center and professor of pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote. “Although several different approaches are used to treat NAS, no universal standard exists. The use of opioids had been recommended for treatment of infants with significant NAS, with neonatal morphine solution or methadone being the most commonly used medications.”