Archives of Disease in Childhood 2008;93:784-786
Short report
Visual evoked potentials in infants exposed to methadone in utero
1 Princess Royal Maternity Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
2 Royal Hospital for Sick Children, University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK
3 Gartnavel General Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
4 Vision Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland, UK
Dr Helen Mactier, Neonatal Unit, Princess Royal Maternity Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland, UK; helen.mactier{at}northglasgow.scot.nhs.uk
We investigated the effects of maternal drug misuse on neonatal visual evoked potentials (VEPs). Flash VEPs were recorded within 4 days of birth from 21 term infants of mothers misusing drugs and prescribed substitute methadone and 20 controls. Waveforms were classified as typical, atypical, immature or non-detectable, and amplitude and latencies were measured. VEPs from drug-exposed infants were less likely to be of typical waveform and more likely to be immature or non-detectable (p<0.01) than those of control infants. They were also smaller in amplitude (median 10.8 vs 24.4 µV, p<0.001). VEPs of drug-exposed infants had matured after 1 week but remained of lower amplitude than VEPs of newborn controls (p<0.01) and were non-detectable in 15%. Flash VEPs differ between maternal drug-exposed and non-drug-exposed newborns. Future research should address the specific effects of maternal methadone and/or other illicit drug misuse on infant VEPs, and associations between neonatal VEPs and subsequent visual development.
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This article has been cited by other articles:
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McGlone, L, Mactier, H, Weaver, L T
(2009). Drug misuse in pregnancy: losing sight of the baby?. Arch. Dis. Child.
94: 708-712
[Abstract] [Full Text] -
McGlone, L., Mactier, H., MacKinnon, J. R
(2008). Outcome in infants exposed to methadone in utero. BMJ
337: a1774-a1774
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