Comparing three medicines for newborn opioid withdrawal in New Mexico
HEAL Initiative: Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome Pharmacological Treatments Comparative Effectiveness Trial New Mexico Site
This project compares buprenorphine, methadone, and morphine for newborns who need treatment for opioid withdrawal.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of New Mexico Health Scis Ctr NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Albuquerque, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11170529 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If your newborn has opioid withdrawal and needs medicine, they may be randomly given one of three drugs (buprenorphine, methadone, or morphine) at the University of New Mexico site. The team will track short-term outcomes like how long your baby stays in hospital and how long medicine is needed, and they will follow babies up to at least 24 months to check growth and development. The study protocol controls for factors such as which opioid the mother used, other substance exposures, use of non-drug care practices, and additional non-opioid medicines. Follow-up visits will use standard tools such as the Bayley Scales to measure infant neurodevelopment.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Newborns (typically within the first weeks of life) diagnosed with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome who require pharmacological treatment at participating UNM clinical sites are the intended candidates.
Not a fit: Babies who do not need medication for withdrawal, older infants outside the enrollment window, those with medical contraindications to the study drugs, or families who decline randomization would not benefit from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the trial could identify which medicine and dosing/weaning plan leads to shorter hospital stays and better long-term growth and development for infants with NOWS.
How similar studies have performed: Smaller single-site trials and observational reports have looked at individual medications, but large multisite randomized head-to-head comparisons like this are relatively limited.
Where this research is happening
Albuquerque, United States
- University of New Mexico Health Scis Ctr — Albuquerque, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Leeman, Lawrence M — University of New Mexico Health Scis Ctr
- Study coordinator: Leeman, Lawrence M
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.