ArticleThe New England journal of medicine2022
Buprenorphine versus Methadone for Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnancy.
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.
What it found
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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.
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.
Intrathecal Hydromorphone vs Intrathecal Morphine to Treat Post Cesarean Pain in Patients With Opioid Use Disorder Taking Buprenorphine
Who cites it
75 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 136 citations in OpenAlex.
- The comparative effects of prenatal exposure to methadone versus buprenorphine for opioid use disorder on neonatal outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Pooled it
- Meta-Analysis and Topological Perturbation in Interactomic Network for Antiopioid Addiction Drug Repurposing.Journal of chemical information and modeling · 2025Pooled it
- Consensus Statement on Pain Management for Pregnant Patients with Opioid-Use Disorder from the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology, Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.Anesthesia and analgesia · 2025Guideline
- Symptom-Based Dosing for Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal: The OPTimize NOW Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA · 2026Trial
- Antenatal Exposure to Medication for Opioid Use Disorder and Infant Outcomes in the Eat, Sleep, Console for Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Randomized Controlled Trial.The Journal of pediatrics · 2026Trial
- Association of anesthesia methods for limb and lower abdominal surgeries with postoperative outcomes in patients requiring home oxygen therapy: a nationwide cohort study in Japan.Journal of anesthesia · 2026Article
- Development and validation of a near-comprehensive RxNorm valueset of opioid medications.JAMIA open · 2026Article
- Continuity of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in States With and Without Medicaid Prescription Cap Policies.Medical care · 2026Article
- Adolescent prefrontal and amygdala molecular signatures of perinatal morphine versus buprenorphine exposure in mice.Neurotoxicology · 2026Article
- Navigating pregnancy and addiction recovery: Patient perspectives on perinatal care interventions for women with opioid use disorder in Kentucky, USA.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Article
- Acute buprenorphine exposure depresses neonatal respiratory chemoreflexes in the presence or absence of naloxone.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Antenatal Opioid Exposure and Cerebral Cortical Maturation in Newborns.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Examining buprenorphine compared to methadone for likelihood of overdose during pregnancy, 2014-2021.Pregnancy (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2026Article
- Temporal trends in outcomes for infants with neonatal opioid withdrawal managed with the Finnegan scoring tool: Insights from the INFORM NOW Study.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2026Article
- Prenatal exposure to buprenorphine or methadone and adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes: population based cohort study.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2026Article
- Neonatal outcomes after antenatal medication for opioid use disorder.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2026Article
- Interactions Between Plant-Derived Psychoactive Substances andMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Association between prenatal opioid exposure and health, education, and foster care between ages 0 and 18.PNAS nexus · 2026Article
- Trends in Opioid Agonist Treatment for Opioid Dependence During Pregnancy: A Population-Based Study in New South Wales 2005-2021.Drug and alcohol review · 2026Article
- 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 · 2026Article
15 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
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.).
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