Fetal exposure to drugs of abuse: a comparative study between maternal self-report and the presence of substances in biological samples

• Grant number: 23/16064-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: September 01, 2024
• End date: August 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Pharmacy - Toxicological Analysis
• Principal Investigator: Bruno Spinosa de Martinis
• Grantee: Bruno Spinosa de Martinis
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Geraldo Duarte

Abstract

In recent years, women of childbearing age have become more adept at drug consumption, due to factors such as increased domestic violence anddevelopment of work overload during the pandemic.Considering the consequences of drug use during pregnancy for the newborn, such as neonatal dependence, the focus of this project is the analysis of meconium, collected from newborns selected at the Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdadeof Medicine in Ribeirão Preto.In this sense, the proposal of this project consists of analyzing, through gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, samples of meconium in search of qualitative identification of drugs, aiming later develop a method for extracting and analyzing the main drugs found.Furthermore, maternal urine and hair samples will also be collected and analyzed, qualitatively.Therefore, with the results of the meconium and urine analysis obtained, a comparison is made with the interview (anamnesis) that will be carried out with the mothers, highlighting possible drug abuse, whether during the three trimesters of pregnancy, either immediately after birth. (AU)