Laser acupuncture as an adjuvant therapy for a neonate with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) due to maternal substitution therapy: additional value of acupuncture.

Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is experienced by newborn infants who have been exposed to opioids in utero. It is the subject of intensive study and, in 2013 alone, just over 70 new papers on the topic appeared in PubMed. Clinical assessment is carried out using a special scoring system which has become internationally established, and the Finnegan score or other modified scores frequently used are diagnostically conclusive. Treatment of NAS usually follows a multimodal regime based on drug therapy with an oral morphine solution, mostly in combination with a sedative, but this has repeatedly become a point of controversial scientific discussion. There has been little research on non-pharmacological therapies for newborn infants with NAS. It has been shown that tight swaddling and non-nutritive sucking may be effective in decreasing the stress in the infant, resulting in fewer erratic, hypertonic and uncoordinated movements. Acupuncture in newborn infants is regarded as safe as long as it is applied under standardised conditions by well-trained acupuncturists. Within the area of non-insertion acupuncture of neonates with NAS, we think your readers will be interested in this first case report of the effect of laser acupuncture therapy in combination with a basic pharmacological treatment in a neonate with NAS.