Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Use of Gabapentin as an Adjunct Agent in the Treatment of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: A Case Report

Alyssa Brzenski, Mark Greenberg

International Journal of Medical and Pharmaceutical Case Reports · pp. 84–88 · Published 13 Mar 2015

10.9734/IJMPCR/2015/16142

Abstract

We report the use of Gabapentin (Neurontin), an anticonvulsant and analgesic, as a non-opioid adjunct agent in the treatment of a term newborn infant with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Initial treatment with methadone to prevent withdrawal symptoms was not fully effective. Despite the addition of clonidine, an alpha-2 agonist, he was still unable to be weaned off opioids. The addition of gabapentin reduced symptoms, allowing for successful taper off methadone, and discharge from the hospital. As a non-opioid agent, gabapentin is a drug with potential for assisting with the difficult task of treating NAS refractory to standard opioid therapy due to its sedative and analgesic properties without any respiratory depression.

Neurontin gabapentin opioids withdrawal neonatal abstinence syndrome clonidine pain

References (19)

  1. 1 Gabapentin for the Symptomatic Treatment of Painful Neuropathy in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus A Randomized Controlled Trial [DOI]
  2. 2 The Analgesic Effects of Gabapentin After Total Abdominal Hysterectomy [DOI]
  3. 3 Gabapentin in the treatment of neuropathic pain [DOI]
  4. 4 Analgesic Effects of Gabapentin after Spinal Surgery [DOI]
  5. 5 Management of neonatal abstinence syndrome in neonates born to opioid maintained women [DOI]
  6. 6 The Analgesic Effects of Gabapentin in Monitored Anesthesia Care for Ear-Nose-Throat Surgery [DOI]
  7. 7 Single‐Dose Gabapentin Pharmacokinetics and Safety in Healthy Infants and Children [DOI]
  8. 8 Management of the newborn infant affected by maternal opiates and other drugs of dependency [DOI]
  9. 9 Importance of Gabapentin Dose in Treatment of Opioid Withdrawal [DOI]
  10. 10 Use of gabapentin in the treatment of childhood reflex sympathetic dystrophy [DOI]
  11. 11 Use of clonidine in the prevention and management of neonatal abstinence syndrome [DOI]
  12. 12 Treatment of Pain With Gabapentin in a Neonate [DOI]
  13. 13 Management of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome from Opioids [DOI]
  14. 14 Gabapentin in the management of reflex sympathetic dystrophy [DOI]
  15. 15 Gabapentin Blocks and Reverses Antinociceptive Morphine Tolerance in the Rat Paw-pressure and Tail-flick Tests [DOI]
  16. 16 Population pharmacokinetics of gabapentin in infants and children [DOI]
  17. 17 Effect of add‐on gabapentin on opioid withdrawal symptoms in opium‐dependent patients [DOI]
  18. 18 Gabapentin Therapy for Pain and Irritability in a Neurologically Impaired Infant [DOI]
  19. 19 Gabapentin as part of multimodal analgesia in a newborn with epidermolysis bullosa [DOI]

Cited by 10

Does Gabapentin Have A Role in the Improvement of Feeding Resistance in Infants?

Hossein Saneian, Peiman Nasri, Ahmad Heydari · Advanced Biomedical Research · 2024

Visceral Hyperalgesia

Joseph Asaro, Christine A. Robinson, Philip T. Levy · Child Neurology Open · 2017

Evaluating Gabapentin Dosing, Efficacy and Safety in Infants

Lauren Fleser, Erin Tibbetts, Alison Hanson · The Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics · 2024

Gabapentin as Adjunctive Therapy in Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome: A Case Series

Caroline Patz, Caren Liviskie, Merielle Bird · The Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics · 2023

Showing 5 of 10 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

51

Page views

0

PDF downloads

12

Outbound clicks

10

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.