Abstract
It has been suggested that sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is increased in infants born to methadone maintained women (MMW). In a series of 354 infants of MMW during pregnancy, 5 cases of SIDS have been identified. All mothers had prenatal care and 3, all multiparous, had major obstetrical complications. Daily methadone was between 10 and 50 mg. for 2 wks. to 8 mos. The infants were of 40 wks. gestation; Apgar scores were ≥8 at 1 and 5 min. in 4 infants, one had scores ≤6; birth weights were between 2570 and 3085 gms.; one was treated for methadone withdrawal. During their nursery stay, 2 developed physiologic jaundice; 2 had hypocalcemia; 1 had mild gastroenteritis with negative culture results; 1 had meconium aspiration pneumonia. All infants died at home between 31 days and 5 mos.; complete postmortem examinations, including toxicologies in 4, were performed. Cause of death in all cases was SIDS, with pulmonary congestion being the most frequent pathological diagnosis. Our series supports previous suggestions that the incidence of SIDS is markedly increased from the overall expected incidence of 0.25% to 1.4%. Since an association of chronic hypoxemia and SIDS has been suggested, a possible hypothesis for the increased incidence in infants who have suffered the effects of prenatal drug abuse may be that repeated insults during maternal overdose and/or withdrawal produce a milieu predisposing the fetus to chronic fetal hypoxemia which increases the chances for SIDS. (Supported by NIDA Grant #DA01807 and Commonwealth of Pa. Contract #1674.)
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Finnegan, L., Reeser, D. & Graziani, L. 248 THE INCIDENCE OD SUDDEN DEATH IN INFANTS BORN TO WOMEN MAINTAINED ON METHADONE. Pediatr Res 12 (Suppl 4), 405 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-00253
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-00253