Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36449419›Full record

ArticleThe New England journal of medicine2022

Buprenorphine versus Methadone for Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnancy.

Elizabeth A Suarez, Krista F Huybrechts, Loreen Straub, Sonia Hernández-Díaz, Hendrée E Jones, Hilary S Connery, Jonathan M Davis, Kathryn J Gray, Barry Lester, Mishka Terplan and 2 more

Registry-linked trialOpen access · greenAbstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in The New England journal of medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06784180 (Intrathecal Hydromorphone vs Intrathecal Morphine to Treat Post Cesarean Pain in Patients With Opioid Use Disorder Taking Buprenorphine), which is not on this map. Cited by 75 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
75citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
47.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT06784180 phase4withdrawnnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Intrathecal Hydromorphone vs Intrathecal Morphine to Treat Post Cesarean Pain in Patients With Opioid Use Disorder Taking Buprenorphine

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of North Carolina, Chapel HillRan2026 to 2029Enrolled0ConditionsOpioid Use DisorderArmsMorphine, Bupivacaine, Fentanyl, Hydromorphone
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

75 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 136 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  16. Neonatal outcomes after antenatal medication for opioid use disorder.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2026
    Article
  17. Review
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  20. Bringing MOUD "In House": Implementing an Internal MOUD Program During Pregnancy in a State Prison.Journal of correctional health care : the official journal of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care · 2026
    Article

15 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

Elizabeth A SuarezFrom the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (K.J.G.), Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Department of Psychiatry (H.S.C.), Harvard Medical School, the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (S.H.-D.), and the Department of Pediatrics, Tufts Medical Center and the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (J.M.D.), Boston, and the Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction, McLean Hospital, Belmont (H.S.C.) - all in Massachusetts; UNC Horizons and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill (H.E.J.); the Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and Women and Infants Hospital - both in Providence, RI (B.L.); Friends Research Institute, Baltimore (M.T.); and the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA (B.T.B.).ORCID 0000-0001-8989-7878
Krista F HuybrechtsFrom the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (K.J.G.), Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Department of Psychiatry (H.S.C.), Harvard Medical School, the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (S.H.-D.), and the Department of Pediatrics, Tufts Medical Center and the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (J.M.D.), Boston, and the Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction, McLean Hospital, Belmont (H.S.C.) - all in Massachusetts; UNC Horizons and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill (H.E.J.); the Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and Women and Infants Hospital - both in Providence, RI (B.L.); Friends Research Institute, Baltimore (M.T.); and the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA (B.T.B.).
Loreen StraubFrom the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (K.J.G.), Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Department of Psychiatry (H.S.C.), Harvard Medical School, the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (S.H.-D.), and the Department of Pediatrics, Tufts Medical Center and the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (J.M.D.), Boston, and the Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction, McLean Hospital, Belmont (H.S.C.) - all in Massachusetts; UNC Horizons and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill (H.E.J.); the Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and Women and Infants Hospital - both in Providence, RI (B.L.); Friends Research Institute, Baltimore (M.T.); and the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA (B.T.B.).
Sonia Hernández-DíazFrom the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (K.J.G.), Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Department of Psychiatry (H.S.C.), Harvard Medical School, the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (S.H.-D.), and the Department of Pediatrics, Tufts Medical Center and the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (J.M.D.), Boston, and the Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction, McLean Hospital, Belmont (H.S.C.) - all in Massachusetts; UNC Horizons and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill (H.E.J.); the Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and Women and Infants Hospital - both in Providence, RI (B.L.); Friends Research Institute, Baltimore (M.T.); and the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA (B.T.B.).
Hendrée E JonesFrom the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (K.J.G.), Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Department of Psychiatry (H.S.C.), Harvard Medical School, the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (S.H.-D.), and the Department of Pediatrics, Tufts Medical Center and the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (J.M.D.), Boston, and the Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction, McLean Hospital, Belmont (H.S.C.) - all in Massachusetts; UNC Horizons and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill (H.E.J.); the Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and Women and Infants Hospital - both in Providence, RI (B.L.); Friends Research Institute, Baltimore (M.T.); and the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA (B.T.B.).
Hilary S ConneryFrom the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (K.J.G.), Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Department of Psychiatry (H.S.C.), Harvard Medical School, the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (S.H.-D.), and the Department of Pediatrics, Tufts Medical Center and the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (J.M.D.), Boston, and the Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction, McLean Hospital, Belmont (H.S.C.) - all in Massachusetts; UNC Horizons and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill (H.E.J.); the Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and Women and Infants Hospital - both in Providence, RI (B.L.); Friends Research Institute, Baltimore (M.T.); and the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA (B.T.B.).
Jonathan M DavisFrom the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (K.J.G.), Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Department of Psychiatry (H.S.C.), Harvard Medical School, the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (S.H.-D.), and the Department of Pediatrics, Tufts Medical Center and the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (J.M.D.), Boston, and the Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction, McLean Hospital, Belmont (H.S.C.) - all in Massachusetts; UNC Horizons and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill (H.E.J.); the Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and Women and Infants Hospital - both in Providence, RI (B.L.); Friends Research Institute, Baltimore (M.T.); and the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA (B.T.B.).
Kathryn J GrayFrom the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (K.J.G.), Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Department of Psychiatry (H.S.C.), Harvard Medical School, the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (S.H.-D.), and the Department of Pediatrics, Tufts Medical Center and the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (J.M.D.), Boston, and the Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction, McLean Hospital, Belmont (H.S.C.) - all in Massachusetts; UNC Horizons and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill (H.E.J.); the Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and Women and Infants Hospital - both in Providence, RI (B.L.); Friends Research Institute, Baltimore (M.T.); and the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA (B.T.B.).
Barry LesterFrom the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (K.J.G.), Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Department of Psychiatry (H.S.C.), Harvard Medical School, the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (S.H.-D.), and the Department of Pediatrics, Tufts Medical Center and the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (J.M.D.), Boston, and the Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction, McLean Hospital, Belmont (H.S.C.) - all in Massachusetts; UNC Horizons and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill (H.E.J.); the Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and Women and Infants Hospital - both in Providence, RI (B.L.); Friends Research Institute, Baltimore (M.T.); and the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA (B.T.B.).
Mishka TerplanFrom the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (K.J.G.), Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Department of Psychiatry (H.S.C.), Harvard Medical School, the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (S.H.-D.), and the Department of Pediatrics, Tufts Medical Center and the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (J.M.D.), Boston, and the Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction, McLean Hospital, Belmont (H.S.C.) - all in Massachusetts; UNC Horizons and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill (H.E.J.); the Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and Women and Infants Hospital - both in Providence, RI (B.L.); Friends Research Institute, Baltimore (M.T.); and the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA (B.T.B.).
Helen MogunFrom the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (K.J.G.), Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Department of Psychiatry (H.S.C.), Harvard Medical School, the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (S.H.-D.), and the Department of Pediatrics, Tufts Medical Center and the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (J.M.D.), Boston, and the Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction, McLean Hospital, Belmont (H.S.C.) - all in Massachusetts; UNC Horizons and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill (H.E.J.); the Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and Women and Infants Hospital - both in Providence, RI (B.L.); Friends Research Institute, Baltimore (M.T.); and the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA (B.T.B.).
Brian T BatemanFrom the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (K.J.G.), Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine (E.A.S., K.F.H., L.S., H.M.), and the Department of Psychiatry (H.S.C.), Harvard Medical School, the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (S.H.-D.), and the Department of Pediatrics, Tufts Medical Center and the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (J.M.D.), Boston, and the Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction, McLean Hospital, Belmont (H.S.C.) - all in Massachusetts; UNC Horizons and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill (H.E.J.); the Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and Women and Infants Hospital - both in Providence, RI (B.L.); Friends Research Institute, Baltimore (M.T.); and the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA (B.T.B.).
American Pharmacists Association · USBrigham and Women's Hospital · USHarvard University · USTufts Medical Center · USUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · US

Funding

The Comparative Effectiveness and Safety of Pharmacotherapies for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder in PregnancyR01DA049822 · NIDA · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI Brian Thomas Bateman, Krista F Huybrechts · 2020 to 2026
$5.4M
NIDA NIH HHS 5R01DA049822NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA049822
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOpioid agonist therapy is strongly recommended for pregnant persons with opioid use disorder. Buprenorphine may be associated with more favorable neonatal and maternal outcomes than methadone, but existing data are limited.

methodsWe conducted a cohort study involving pregnant persons who were enrolled in public insurance programs in the United States during the period from 2000 through 2018 in which we examined outcomes among those who received buprenorphine as compared with those who received methadone. Exposure to the two medications was assessed in early pregnancy (through gestational week 19), late pregnancy (gestational week 20 through the day before delivery), and the 30 days before delivery. Risk ratios for neonatal and maternal outcomes were adjusted for confounders with the use of propensity-score overlap weights.

resultsThe data source for the study consisted of 2,548,372 pregnancies that ended in live births. In early pregnancy, 10,704 pregnant persons were exposed to buprenorphine and 4387 to methadone. In late pregnancy, 11,272 were exposed to buprenorphine and 5056 to methadone (9976 and 4597, respectively, in the 30 days before delivery). Neonatal abstinence syndrome occurred in 52.0% of the infants who were exposed to buprenorphine in the 30 days before delivery as compared with 69.2% of those exposed to methadone (adjusted relative risk, 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.71 to 0.75). Preterm birth occurred in 14.4% of infants exposed to buprenorphine in early pregnancy and in 24.9% of those exposed to methadone (adjusted relative risk, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.62); small size for gestational age in 12.1% and 15.3%, respectively (adjusted relative risk, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.66 to 0.80); and low birth weight in 8.3% and 14.9% (adjusted relative risk, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.50 to 0.63). Delivery by cesarean section occurred in 33.6% of pregnant persons exposed to buprenorphine in early pregnancy and 33.1% of those exposed to methadone (adjusted relative risk, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.97 to 1.08), and severe maternal complications developed in 3.3% and 3.5%, respectively (adjusted relative risk, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.74 to 1.13). Results of exposure in late pregnancy were consistent with results of exposure in early pregnancy.

conclusionsThe use of buprenorphine in pregnancy was associated with a lower risk of adverse neonatal outcomes than methadone use; however, the risk of adverse maternal outcomes was similar among persons who received buprenorphine and those who received methadone. (Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.).

Indexed as

BuprenorphineMethadoneOpiate Substitution TreatmentOpioid-Related DisordersPregnancy ComplicationsPremature BirthCesarean SectionCohort StudiesFemaleHumansInfantInfant, Low Birth WeightInfant, NewbornInfant, Small for Gestational AgeLive BirthPregnancyBuprenorphineMethadone

Identifiers

PMID36449419
PMCPMC9873239
OpenAlexW4310952463

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