#438 - 🔵 [PAS 2026] - Eat, Sleep, Console at Two Years: Long-Term Outcomes for Opioid-Exposed Infants (ft. Dr. Ward Rice)

Send us Fan MailDr. Ward Rice, neonatologist and researcher within the Neonatal Research Network, presents two-year follow-up data from the landmark ACT NOW Eat Sleep Console trial — one of the largest multi-center randomized trials ever conducted on neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome. He shares findings on neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes at two years of age in babies exposed to buprenorphine versus methadone in utero, explaining why the short-term advantages of buprenorphine did not translate into measurable differences at this time point — but why both groups still scored below population norms on Bayley testing, underscoring the ongoing developmental risk in this population. He also discusses why longer follow-up is planned, what a smaller four-year study suggests may still emerge, and why this research ultimately informs prenatal decision-making by obstetric colleagues just as much as neonatal care at the bedside.Support the showAs always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: [email protected]. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.Enjoy!