Patients With OUD Who Receive Extended-Release Naltrexone May Be More Likely to Stay in Treatment

Naltrexone is a proven treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), but its clinical usefulness, when taken orally, has been limited by poor adherence among patients, according to several studies. Astudy inAJP in Advance now suggests that patients with OUD may be twice as likely to stay in therapy if they receive monthly injections of extended-release naltrexone (XR-naltrexone) following opioid withdrawal compared with daily oral naltrexone.“These study findings have immediate clinical relevance for treatment of opioid use disorder at a time when an opioid epidemic continues unabated in the United States,” wrote Maria Sullivan, M.D., Ph.D., of Columbia University and colleagues. “Given that postdetoxification outpatient treatment without pharmacotherapy yields poor completion rates, high (60%−90%) relapse rates, and heightened risk of overdose and death, XR-naltrexone may be a viable alternative to prevent relapse in patients seeking treatment for opioid use disorder who do not prefer an agonist approach [such as methadon e or buprenorphine].”Sullivan and colleagues enrolled 60 adults aged 18 to 60 who metDSM-IVcriteria for opioid dependence in the study. All participants completed an inpatient medication-assisted opioid withdrawal program and were transitioned to naltrexone therapy. Thirty-two patients were randomly assigned to treatment with oral naltrexone (50 mg/day) and 28 were assigned to treatment with XR-naltrexone (380 mg per injection every four weeks) for 24 ...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: extended-release naltrexone Maria Sullivan opioid use disorder opioid withdrawal OUD Source Type: research