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Neonates exposed to opioids in utero are routinely monitored for withdrawal, but clinicians vary in how they screen for at-risk infants. In this retrospective study, researchers identified a cohort of 460 neonates who were monitored for neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) at a single tertiary center between 2017 and 2022. They then examined which perinatal screening approaches — maternal history, maternal urine drug testing, or neonatal urine drug testing — were documented as the reason for monitoring, and which were most predictive of requiring treatment for withdrawal.
Nearly all monitored neonates had either a maternal history of opioid use or an abnormal maternal urine test; none were monitored solely due to a po…