Blinded Trial of Buprenorphine or Morphine in the Treatment of the Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome

The opioid neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is a condition of withdrawal symptoms after utero exposure to opioids. In an open label Phase 1 trial sublingual buprenorphine was associated with a \~30% reduction length of treatment compared to standard of care morphine. Due to the subjective nature of the scoring instrument, efficacy in a blinded trial is needed to unequivocally establish the superiority of buprenorphine over morphine. The primary objective of the trial is to compare length of treatment using sublingual buprenorphine or oral morphine solution in the pharmacologic treatment of the NAS.