{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,17]],"date-time":"2026-04-17T17:46:36Z","timestamp":1776447996714,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)","issue":"2","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2015,2,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>OBJECTIVE:<\/jats:title><jats:p>The study goal was to determine whether clonidine treatment of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) would result in a better neurobehavioral performance compared with morphine.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>METHODS:<\/jats:title><jats:p>This pilot study prospectively enrolled infants \u226535 weeks\u2019 gestational age admitted for treatment of NAS. After informed consent was obtained, infants were randomized to receive morphine (0.4 mg\/kg per day) or clonidine (5 \u03bcg\/kg per day) divided into 8 doses. A 25% dose escalation every 24 hours was possible per protocol (maximum of 1 mg\/kg per day for morphine and 12 \u03bcg\/kg per day for clonidine). After control of symptoms, the dose was tapered by 10% every other day. Clinical staff monitored infants by using Finnegan scoring. Masked research staff administered the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) at 1 week and at 2 to 4 weeks after initiation of treatment and the Bayley Scales III, and Preschool Language Scale IV, at 1-year adjusted age. Analyses included descriptive statistics, repeated measures analysis of variance, and Wilcoxon tests.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>RESULTS:<\/jats:title><jats:p>Infants treated with morphine (n = 15) versus clonidine (n = 16) did not differ in birth weight or age at treatment. Treatment duration was significantly longer for morphine (median 39 days) than for clonidine (median 28 days; P = .02). NNNS summary scores improved significantly with clonidine but not with morphine. On subsequent assessment, those receiving clonidine had lower height of arousal and excitability (P &amp;lt; .05). One-year motor, cognitive, and language scores did not differ between groups.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>CONCLUSIONS:<\/jats:title><jats:p>Clonidine may be a favorable alternative to morphine as a single-drug therapy for NAS. A multicenter randomized trial is warranted.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1542\/peds.2014-2377","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2015,1,27]],"date-time":"2015-01-27T01:35:06Z","timestamp":1422322506000},"page":"e383-e391","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":62,"title":["Morphine Versus Clonidine for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome"],"prefix":"10.1542","volume":"135","author":[{"given":"Henrietta S.","family":"Bada","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Departments of Pediatrics, College of Medicine,"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Thitinart","family":"Sithisarn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departments of Pediatrics, College of Medicine,"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Julia","family":"Gibson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, Kentucky Children\u2019s Hospital, Lexington, Kentucky; and"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Karen","family":"Garlitz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, Kentucky Children\u2019s Hospital, Lexington, Kentucky; and"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rhonda","family":"Caldwell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departments of Pediatrics, College of Medicine,"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gilson","family":"Capilouto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Health Sciences,"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yinglei","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Statistics, College of Arts and Sciences and"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Markos","family":"Leggas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky;"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Patrick","family":"Breheny","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"417","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2015,2,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"2021120907015765500_B1","unstructured":"United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 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