Neonatal abstinence syndrome [NAS] is a diagnosis that originally was restricted to infants going through withdrawal due to the effects of prenatal opioid exposure. However, over time, the term began to be applied to infants with jitteriness and irritability following prenatal exposure to other substances. A new term, Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS), recently emerged to ensure specificity in the diagnosis of infants affected by prenatal exposure to opioids. Whichever term is used, how do clinicians differentiate the effects of and infants’ dependence on opioids from infants with neurobehavioral deficits due to non-opioid exposure. This session will address that question and provide an effective approach to diagnosing NOWS in the newborn infant.
Learning objectives:
At the completion of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Define neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS).
2. Describe the neurobehavioral deficits exhibited in infants with prenatal exposure to non-opioid substances.
3. Differentiate NOWS from neurobehavioral deficits in infants
affected by prenatal non-opioid substance exposure