Lessons learned from a comparison of evidence-based research in pregnant opioid-dependent women.

OBJECTIVES: Lessons learned in research and treatment of opioid dependence demonstrate the need to include pregnant women in clinical trials.

METHODS: Two double-blind, double-dummy, randomized controlled trials (Pilot study, European sample(†) of MOTHER-trial) comparing buprenorphine and methadone in opioid-dependent pregnant women were conducted. In both studies, participants received voucher-based incentives for attendance and completion of study assessments. In the MOTHER trial, participants additionally received escalating voucher incentives for drug-free urine samples. Neonatal abstinence syndrome was treated with oral morphine solution based on standardized modified Finnegan scores.

RESULTS: After a mean treatment period of 13.79 weeks in the Pilot study (PS, n = 18) and 20.78 weeks in the MOTHER-trial (MT, n = 41), respectively (p < 0.001), PS patients delivered at mean doses of 14.00 mg buprenorphine/52.50 mg methadone and MT participants at 13.44 mg buprenorphine/63.68 mg methadone. Nonsignificant differences regarding dropout rates were found (22% in PS versus 10% in MT), but dropout was significantly earlier in the MT (p = 0.013). Significantly higher rates of concomitant consumption of opioids and benzodiazepines occurred in the PS compared with the MT (p < 0.001), however, with no significant differences in neonatal data between both settings.

CONCLUSIONS: Early treatment enrolment combined with contingency management contributes to reduced illicit drug use throughout pregnancy, surprisingly without influencing neonatal outcome parameters.