Buprenorphine vs Buprenorphine/Naloxone on the Effects of Maternal Symptomatology

This study will assesses the efficacy of buprenorphine/naloxone vs buprenorphine on maternal withdrawal symptoms and drug cravings. This is a randomized controlled trial to a cohort of pregnant women seeking medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders. Half of participants will receive buprenorphine, while the other half of participants receive a combination of buprenorphine/naloxone

Buprenorphine and Buprenorphine/naloxone each are used to treat opioid use disorders in pregnancy. Buprenorphine has many preferential characteristics over methadone including decreased risk of maternal overdose, lower incidence of preterm labor, less frequent clinical visits, shorter duration of neonatal hospital stay and treatment for neonatal abstinence syndrome. Recent studies have found that increasing the dosing frequencies of buprenorphine is more efficacious to prevent maternal withdrawal symptoms, improve compliance, and theoretically produce better pregnancy outcomes. Buprenorphine/naloxone, a combination opioid of buprenorphine and naloxone, has also been investigated as an alternative to treatment and maintenance for opioid use disorder. The advantage of the combination of buprenorphine with naloxone is that it reduces the potential for abuse. As a partial mu opioid agonist, buprenorphine alone has the capacity to induce typical opioid effects such as euphoria, which are enhanced when the drug is taken intravenously. By combining buprenorphine with naloxone, an opioid antagonist, the capacity for buprenorphine to be abused is reduced.

Buprenorphine 2 mg to 8 mg daily: Light to moderate history of opioid use (heroin, oxycodone, etc.) and/or Clinical Opioid Withdraw Scale (COWS) scores 5-24 Buprenorphine 8 mg to 16 mg daily: Heavy history of opioid use (heroin, oxycodone, etc.) and/or Clinical Opioid Withdraw Scale (COWS) scores 25-36+

Buprenorphine/naloxone 4 mg/1 mg daily once daily or twice daily (BID): Light to moderate history of opioid use (heroin, oxycodone, etc.) and/or Clinical Opioid Withdraw Scale (COWS) scores 5-24 Buprenorphine/naloxone 8 mg/2 mg daily once daily or twice daily (BID): Heavy history of opioid use (heroin, oxycodone, etc.) and/or Clinical Opioid Withdraw Scale (COWS) scores 25-36+

To compare compliance with buprenorphine versus buprenorphine/naloxone medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in pregnant women. Compliance will include the incidence of urine toxicology testing positive for illicit substances during prenatal care and at the time of admission for delivery.

From entry into the study until delivery (through study completion, an average of 9 months which is duration of the pregnancy)

To compare compliance with buprenorphine versus buprenorphine/naloxone medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in the postpartum period. Compliance will include the incidence of urine toxicology testing positive for illicit substances from the time of discharge from the hospital following the delivery over a 2 month period postpartum (postpartum period).

Evaluate all women for the need a significant dosing change in buprenorphine or buprenorphine/naloxone (>50% increase or decrease) during pregnancy.

From entry into the study until delivery (through study completion, an average of 9 months which is duration of the pregnancy)

Evaluate all women for the need a significant dosing change in buprenorphine or buprenorphine/naloxone (>50% increase or decrease) from the hospital following the delivery over a 2 month period postpartum (postpartum period).

Prenatal Clinical Opioid Withdraw Scale (COWS) score and drug cravings score (0 to 48 score) Score interpretation: 5-12 = Mild 13-24 = Moderate 25-36 = Moderately Severe More than 36 = Severe Withdrawal

Umbilical cord blood levels of metabolites of buprenorphine (norbuprenorphine, buprenorphine glucuronide, and norbuprenorphine glucuronide) which are obtained from the umbilical cord after delivery of the baby (one time specimen for evaluation)

Birth until discharge from hospital (performed during hospitalization of newborn from 0 to 30 days of life)

As this study pertains only to pregnant patients seeking treatment for opioid use disorders, females are the only biologically plausiable participants.

Inclusion Criteria: 18 years of age and older With a confirmed viable intrauterine pregnancy Opioid Use Disorder Care in a Stony Brook Medicine OBGYN clinical office sites Medication-assisted treatment through Stony Brook Medicine OBGYN office sites Exclusion Criteria: Known or suspected allergy to buprenorphine or buprenorphine/naloxone Carrying a fetus with known aneuploidy or anomaly

In regards to the participants and neonates' health information, care will be taken to ensure privacy. All data and specimens will be coded with a case number and de-identified, and exported to a REDcap application system (secure data file approved by Institutional Review Board). The REDcap application data will be kept on the department's secure, shared institutional, server space.

Committee Opinion No. 711: Opioid Use and Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol. 2017 Aug;130(2):e81-e94. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000002235.

Bastian JR, Chen H, Zhang H, Rothenberger S, Tarter R, English D, Venkataramanan R, Caritis SN. Dose-adjusted plasma concentrations of sublingual buprenorphine are lower during than after pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2017 Jan;216(1):64.e1-64.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2016.09.095. Epub 2016 Sep 26.

Caritis SN, Bastian JR, Zhang H, Kalluri H, English D, England M, Bobby S, Venkataramanan R. An evidence-based recommendation to increase the dosing frequency of buprenorphine during pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2017 Oct;217(4):459.e1-459.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2017.06.029. Epub 2017 Jun 29.

Chavan NR, Ashford KB, Wiggins AT, Lofwall MR, Critchfield AS. Buprenorphine for Medication-Assisted Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnancy: Relationship to Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome. AJP Rep. 2017 Oct;7(4):e215-e222. doi: 10.1055/s-0037-1608783. Epub 2017 Dec 7.

Debelak K, Morrone WR, O'Grady KE, Jones HE. Buprenorphine + naloxone in the treatment of opioid dependence during pregnancy-initial patient care and outcome data. Am J Addict. 2013 May-Jun;22(3):252-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1521-0391.2012.12005.x.

Geber WF, Schramm LC. Congenital malformations of the central nervous system produced by narcotic analgesics in the hamster. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1975 Dec 1;123(7):705-13. doi: 10.1016/0002-9378(75)90492-5.

Fudala PJ, Bridge TP, Herbert S, Williford WO, Chiang CN, Jones K, Collins J, Raisch D, Casadonte P, Goldsmith RJ, Ling W, Malkerneker U, McNicholas L, Renner J, Stine S, Tusel D; Buprenorphine/Naloxone Collaborative Study Group. Office-based treatment of opiate addiction with a sublingual-tablet formulation of buprenorphine and naloxone. N Engl J Med. 2003 Sep 4;349(10):949-58. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa022164.

Jumah NA, Edwards C, Balfour-Boehm J, Loewen K, Dooley J, Gerber Finn L, Kelly L. Observational study of the safety of buprenorphine+naloxone in pregnancy in a rural and remote population. BMJ Open. 2016 Oct 31;6(10):e011774. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011774.

Lund IO, Fischer G, Welle-Strand GK, O'Grady KE, Debelak K, Morrone WR, Jones HE. A Comparison of Buprenorphine + Naloxone to Buprenorphine and Methadone in the Treatment of Opioid Dependence during Pregnancy: Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes. Subst Abuse. 2013;7:61-74. doi: 10.4137/SART.S10955. Epub 2013 Mar 14.

Mendelson J, Jones RT. Clinical and pharmacological evaluation of buprenorphine and naloxone combinations: why the 4:1 ratio for treatment? Drug Alcohol Depend. 2003 May 21;70(2 Suppl):S29-37. doi: 10.1016/s0376-8716(03)00057-7.

Nguyen L, Lander LR, O'Grady KE, Marshalek PJ, Schmidt A, Kelly AK, Jones HE. Treating women with opioid use disorder during pregnancy in Appalachia: Initial neonatal outcomes following buprenorphine + naloxone exposure. Am J Addict. 2018 Mar;27(2):92-96. doi: 10.1111/ajad.12687. Epub 2018 Feb 23.

Poon S, Pupco A, Koren G, Bozzo P. Safety of the newer class of opioid antagonists in pregnancy. Can Fam Physician. 2014 Jul;60(7):631-2, e348-9.

Simojoki K, Vorma H, Alho H. A retrospective evaluation of patients switched from buprenorphine (Subutex) to the buprenorphine/naloxone combination (Suboxone). Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2008 Jun 17;3:16. doi: 10.1186/1747-597X-3-16.

Strain EC, Harrison JA, Bigelow GE. Induction of opioid-dependent individuals onto buprenorphine and buprenorphine/naloxone soluble-films. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2011 Mar;89(3):443-9. doi: 10.1038/clpt.2010.352. Epub 2011 Jan 26.

Wiegand SL, Stringer EM, Stuebe AM, Jones H, Seashore C, Thorp J. Buprenorphine and naloxone compared with methadone treatment in pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol. 2015 Feb;125(2):363-368. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000000640.