Long-term outcome following selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor induced neonatal abstinence syndrome

Objective:to assess the long-term neurodevelopment of children exposed in utero to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (ssris) that developed a neonatal abstinence syndrome (nas).study design:neurodevelopmental evaluation was performed at the age of 2 to 6 years. children who developed nas were compared with those who did not using univariate and logistic regression analyses.result:thirty children with nas and 52 without nas participated in the study. both groups were similar in mean cognitive ability (106.9±14.0 vs 100.5±14.6, p=0.12) and developmental scores (98.9±11.4 vs 95.7±9.9, p=0.21). however, there was a trend towards small head circumference in the nas group (20 vs 6%, p=0.068). nas was associated with an increased risk of social-behavior abnormalities (odds ratio (or) 3.03, 95% confidence interval (ci) 1.07 to 8.60, p=0.04) and advanced maternal age (or 1.12, 95% ci 1.00 to 1.25, p=0.04).conclusion:infants who developed nas had normal cognitive ability, but were at an increased risk for social-behavioral abnormalities. follow-up evaluation of symptomatic neonates should be considered.