Trends in incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome in Canada and associated healthcare resource utilization

Background: Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is a collection of symptoms that occurs primarily due to antenatal opioid exposure. National data on incidence, hospital resource utilization, and demographic features of NAS have not been previously described for Canada.

Methods: Secondary analysis was performed with data from hospitals in all Canadian provinces and territories, excluding Quebec. Infants with NAS were identified by searching for ICD-10-CA code P96.1 in the Canadian Institute for Health Information's discharge abstract database. We examined incidence, hospital beds occupied per day, length of stay (fiscal 2003-2014), hospital costs, and demographic features (due to data availability, limited to fiscal 2010-2014).

Results: The incidence of NAS in Canada tripled between 2003 and 2014 (1.8-5.4 per 1000 live births), with an average annual increase of 0.33 cases per 1000 live births (95% CI 0.31, 0.34). Provincial incidence in 2014 ranged from 2.7 (Alberta) to 9.7 (New Brunswick) per 1000 live births. Between 2010 and 2014 total and mean per-patient costs rose from $15.7 to $26.9 million CAD and $14,629 to $17,367 CAD, respectively, with substantial inter-provincial variation in expenditure. Mean length of stay was 14.4 days in 2003 and 14.8 days in 2014, and beds occupied per day rose from 19.7 in 2003 to 69.4 in 2014.

Conclusions: The incidence of NAS is increasing in Canada with associated rise in healthcare resource utilization. Inter-provincial variability in incidence and resource utilization underscores the need to further explore best practices for cost-effective prevention and management of NAS.