Keywords
Morphine
Newborns
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
Systematic Review
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Abstract
Objective: To compile studies investigating the effects of morphine in the management of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) compared to other medications, especially regarding length of treatment. Methods: Considering the guiding question, we searched for clinical trials published between 2005 and 2024 in the PUBMED, EMBASE, BVS, LILACS, SCOPUS, and SCIELO databases, using the descriptors Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, Neonatal Withdrawal Syndrome, Morphine, Clinical Trial, Therapeutics, Treatment and their Portuguese translations, with these terms interconnected by the Boolean operators AND and OR. Results: 346 articles were found, of which, after applying the exclusion criteria, 4 were selected for the final sample. In total, the analyzed population corresponded to 329 neonates. The studies presented different results regarding the effectiveness of morphine in managing NAS in the investigated outcome, with one article considering no relevant difference compared to tincture of opium, two articles showing no difference compared to phenobarbital, one article showing inferiority to methadone, and one study showing no significant difference compared to chlorpromazine. Final considerations: Due to the divergence of findings, further clinical trials are encouraged to articulate more robust results on this topic.
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