Effect of 2 treatment regimens on management of the neonatal narcotic withdrawal syndrome

31 neonates exposed to methadone in-utero requiring treatment for withdrawal symptoms were randomly assigned to a paregoric (PG) or phenobarbital (P) treatment group. Maternal drug intake, birth weights, gestational ages and time of institution of therapy were similar in both groups. Rates of weight gain were similar for both groups. PG infants required treatment for a median duration of 22 days, as compared to 17 days for P patients (p<0.01). Infants in the former group became increasingly tolerant to therapy, and required progressively higher doses of PG to control symptoms. These data suggest that P may be more efficacious than PG in treatment of the neonatal narcotic withdrawal syndrome.