Neonatal abstinence syndrome and maternal opioid-related diagnoses in the US

Researchers with HHS, CDC, and other institutions worked together to gauge the prevalence of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and maternal opioid-related diagnoses (MOD) in the United States during 2010–17. The team drew on data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization’s National Inpatient Sample and State Inpatient Databases. Analysis revealed that NAS and MOD rates registered a substantial increase across the nation and in most states during the study period, particularly for non-Hispanic White, Medicaid-billed Americans. The incidence varied widely state by state, ranging from 1.3–53.5 cases per 1,000 birth hospitalizations for NAS and from 1.7–47.3 cases per 1,000 delivery hospitalizations for MOD. In particular, MOD rates went up markedly when new International Classification of Disease, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification codes took effect in 2016, the researchers noted. The change included additional codes for long-term and unspecified opioid consumption.