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Updated: Aug 5, 2026
Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Associations between opioid exposure and brain size among extremely preterm infants
Seh Hyun Kim1,2, Sara Cherkerzian1, Yvonne Sheldon1
1Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Objective:
Morphine and fentanyl are commonly used drugs in extremely preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), but their impact on brain growth is unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between opioid exposure and brain size in extremely preterm infants.
Study Design:
This is a retrospective cohort study of preterm infants born less than 28 weeks gestation who received opioids and underwent term-equivalent brain magnetic resonance imaging. Brain size was assessed using corrected biparietal width (cBPW) and corrected transcerebellar diameter (cTCD).
Result:
This study included 51 preterm infants. Multivariable linear mixed model analysis adjusted for gestational age and birthweight Z-score showed increased natural log opioid duration was associated with lower mean cTCD (β: -0.99, 95% CI -1.94, -0.05).
Conclusion:
Longer duration of opioid exposure in the NICU was associated with smaller cerebellar size at term equivalent age.
