A population‐based time‐series analysis of opioid agonist treatment dispensed during pregnancy

• Published in: Addiction (Abingdon, England) Vol. 119; no. 6; pp. 1111 - 1122
• Main Authors: Schmidt, Rose A., Everett, Karl, Perez‐Brumer, Amaya, Strike, Carol, Rush, Brian, Gomes, Tara
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.06.2024
• Subjects: Adult; Agonists; Analgesics; Analgesics, Opioid - therapeutic use; Buprenorphine; Buprenorphine - therapeutic use; Buprenorphine, Naloxone Drug Combination - therapeutic use; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Drug abuse; Drug addiction; ecological study; Female; Humans; Intervention; medications for opioid use disorder; Methadone; Methadone - therapeutic use; Naloxone; Narcotic Antagonists - therapeutic use; Narcotics; Ontario - epidemiology; Opiate Substitution Treatment - methods; opioid agonist treatment; Opioid-Related Disorders - drug therapy; Opioid-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Opioids; Pandemics; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications - drug therapy; Pregnancy Complications - epidemiology; Statistical analysis; Stillbirth; Substance use disorder; time‐series analysis; Ontario; Canada; Ontario Canada; ecological study; time‐series analysis; Buprenorphine; opioid agonist treatment; pregnancy; medications for opioid use disorder; methadone; opioids
• ISSN: 0965-2140; 1360-0443; 1360-0443
• DOI: 10.1111/add.16459

Background and aims Identifying effective opioid treatment options during pregnancy is a high priority due to the growing prevalence of opioid use disorder across North America. We assessed the temporal impact of three population‐level interventions on the use of opioid agonist treatment (OAT) during pregnancy in Ontario, Canada. Design This was a population‐based time‐series analysis to identify trends in the monthly prevalence of pregnant people dispensed methadone and buprenorphine. The impact of adding buprenorphine/naloxone to the public drug formulary, the release of pregnancy‐specific guidance and the start of the COVID‐19 pandemic were assessed. Setting and participants The study was conducted in Ontario, Canada between 1 July 2013 and 31 March 2022, comprising people who delivered a live or stillbirth in any Ontario hospital during the study period. Measurements We identified any prescription for methadone or buprenorphine dispensed between the estimated conception date and delivery date and calculated the monthly prevalence of OAT‐exposed pregnancies among all pregnant people in Ontario. Findings Overall, rates of OAT during pregnancy have declined since mid‐2018. Methadone‐exposed pregnancies decreased from 0.46% of all pregnancies in Ontario in 2015 to a low of 0.16% in 2022. In the primary analysis, none of the interventions had a statistically significant impact on overall OAT rates; however, in the stratified analyses, there was a small increase in buprenorphine after the formulary change [0.006%, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.0032−0.0081, P < 0.0001] and a decrease in buprenorphine after the release of the 2017 guidelines (−0.005%, 95% CI = −0.0080 to −0.0020, P = 0.001) and the start of the COVID‐19 pandemic (−0.003%, 95% CI = −0.0054 to −0.0006, P = 0.015). Conclusion Despite changes in guidance and funding, opioid agonist treatment during pregnancy has been declining in Ontario, Canada since 2018.