Ultrasound evaluation of brain parenchyma in preterm infants with prenatal opioid exposure

Patrick Tivnan; Bindu N Setty; Eileen Howard; Joel Agarwal; Chad W Farris; Elisha M Wachman; Ilse Castro-Aragon

doi:10.1038/s41372-023-01804-3

Ultrasound evaluation of brain parenchyma in preterm infants with prenatal opioid exposure

J Perinatol. 2023 Oct 20. doi: 10.1038/s41372-023-01804-3. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Patrick Tivnan^{1

2}, Bindu N Setty³, Eileen Howard⁴, Joel Agarwal⁵, Chad W Farris³, Elisha M Wachman⁶, Ilse Castro-Aragon³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology, Boston Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. ptivnan1@jh.edu.
² Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University, 4940 Eastern Avenue, Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA. ptivnan1@jh.edu.
³ Department of Pediatric Radiology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA, 02118, USA.
⁴ Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA, 02118, USA.
⁵ Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA, 02118, USA.
⁶ Department of Pediatrics, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA, 02118, USA.

PMID: 37863985
DOI: 10.1038/s41372-023-01804-3

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate whether preterm infants with prenatal opioid exposure had differences in brain size on head ultrasounds (HUS) in comparison to non-exposed infants.

Study design: Preterm infants ≤34 weeks with prenatal opioid exposure (n = 47) and matched non-exposed infants (n = 62) with early HUSs were examined. Fifteen brain measurements were made and linear regression models performed to evaluate differences.

Results: Brain measurements were smaller in the right ventricular index [β = -0.18 mm (95% CI -0.32, -0.03]), left ventricular index [β = -0.04 mm (95% CI -0.08, -0.003)], left basal ganglia insula [β = -0.10 mm (95% CI -0.15, -0.04)], right basal ganglia insula [β = -0.08 mm (95% CI -0.14, -0.03)], corpus callosum fastigium length [β = -0.16 mm (95% CI -0.25, -0.06)], intracranial height index [β = -0.31 mm (95% CI -0.44, -0.18)], and transcerebellar measurements [β = -0.13 (95% CI -0.25, -0.02)] in the opioid-exposed group.

Conclusions: Preterm infants with prenatal opioid exposure have smaller brain sizes compared to non-exposed infants, potentially increasing their risk for neurodevelopmental abnormalities.