Neonatal narcotic withdrawal in Hong Kong Chinese

A retrospective case controlled study was carried out to study the neonatal characteristics, outcome and narcotic withdrawal syndrome in 51 neonates exposed to narcotic antenatally. The birth weight, head circumference and body length were significantly smaller in the study group while the incidence of prematurity (41%) and small-for-gestational age babies was increased (27.5%). Narcotic withdrawal occurred in 83% of narcotic exposed neonates. About half of them had onset of withdrawal symptoms within the first 24 hours. All of these newborns were treated by either phenobarbitone (45%), chlorpromazine (9.5%) or both (40.5%). The average duration of treatment was 15.7 days. There was one neonatal death due to in utero withdrawal and hypoxia, and another post-neonatal death due to sudden infant death. Neonatal jaundice, necrotising enterocolitis, clinical sepsis and congenital syphilis were more common in the drug-addicted group.