Advancing Clinical Trials in Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal (ACT NOW)
Secondary Manuscripts (JAMA Pediatrics)
Tertiary Manuscript (American Journal of Perinatology)
Learn more about Eat, Sleep, Console
Read the Research Summaries
Learn more about the ESC study HERE.
This study is completed.
Study Purpose: The goal of the ACT NOW ESC study is to test whether the “Eat, Sleep, Console” (ESC) care approach is more effective than usual approaches to assess and manage care for opioid-exposed newborns. ESC prioritizes care without the use of medications, such as a low-stimulation environment, swaddling, skin-to-skin contact, and breastfeeding.
The Eating, Sleeping, and Consoling for Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal (ESC-NOW) approach involves parents and other primary caregivers in the treatment of NOWS. The main idea is that parents hold, swaddle, and rock their babies in quiet, low-light rooms. The study found that this approach lowered the need for medication and allowed babies to leave the hospital earlier. Read more below. ESC-NOW included a diverse group of 1,305 opioid-exposed infants from 26 hospitals across the U.S.
Results now available: The “Eat, Sleep, Console” care approach was found to be more effective for the treatment of infants with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) than usual approaches to care. Infants cared for with ESC were medically ready for hospital discharge an average of 6.7 days sooner than infants cared for with the usual approach. They were also 63% less likely to receive medication as part of their treatment. This study gives hospitals an evidence-based approach to care for babies with NOWS. Read more in the New England Journal of Medicine. This research was led by the following investigators:
- Leslie Young, MD, University of Vermont (IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network)
- Lori Devlin, DO, MHA, MS, University of Louisville School of Medicine (IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network)
- Stephanie Merhar, MD, MS, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital (NICHD Neonatal Research Network)
The Helping to End Addiction Long-term® Initiative or NIH HEAL Initiative®. Learn more about this aggressive trans-agency effort to speed scientific solutions to stem the national opioid public health crisis here.
Questions
Questions about ECHO's involvement in the ACT NOW Program or NIH HEAL Initiative® can be directed to the Program Office.
List of ACT NOW ESC Sites and Funded Institutions
Additional information for the participating sites can be found here.
| State | Site Name |
| DE | Christiana Care Health Systems |
| FL | Tampa General Hospital |
| HI | Kapiolani Hospital |
| KS | Shawnee Mission Medical Center |
| KS | Kansas University Medical Center |
| KY | Norton Children's Hospital |
| KY | St. Elizabeth Healthcare/CCHMC |
| LA | Tulane University School of Medicine |
| MA | Winchester Hospital (Lahey Health) |
| MS | University of Mississippi Medical Center |
| NC | Duke Hospital |
| NE | University of Nebraska Medical Center |
| NM | University of New Mexico |
| NY | University of Buffalo |
| NY | University of Rochester |
| OH | Case Western Reserve University |
| OH | Good Samaritan Hospital |
| OH | Nationwide Children's Hospital |
| OH | University of Cincinnati (University Hospital) |
| OK | Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center |
| PA | Pennsylvania Hospital |
| PA | Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania |
| SC | Medical University of South Carolina |
| SC | Spartanburg Regional Medical Center |
| SD | Sanford Health |
| UT | University of Utah Medical Center |