The feasibility of abrupt methadone-buprenorphine transfer in British opiate addicts in an outpatient setting
A study of 13 male opiate addicts was undertaken to investigate the feasibility of transferring abruptly from methadone maintenance treatment to buprenorphine in an outpatient setting. The mean age of subjects was 30 years (range 18‐45) and all fulfilled DSM‐III‐R criteria for opioid dependence. All...
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Published in | Addiction biology Vol. 2; no. 2; pp. 191 - 200 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Oxford, UK
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
01.04.1997
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | A study of 13 male opiate addicts was undertaken to investigate the feasibility of transferring abruptly from methadone maintenance treatment to buprenorphine in an outpatient setting. The mean age of subjects was 30 years (range 18‐45) and all fulfilled DSM‐III‐R criteria for opioid dependence. All were maintained on a methadone dose of 20‐30 mg mixture daily and were transferred for 3 days to 4 mg buprenorphine sublingually 24‐26 hours after their last dose of methadone. On day 1 repeated measures of drug effects were performed, including agonist and withdrawal effects, and this was complemented by saccadic eye movements, a potential new measure of central opioid effects. These recordings were repeated once on days 2 and 3 and the subjects returned to their previous dose of methadone on day 4. Buprenorphine caused no detectable agonist effects or drug “high”, but had “good” effects, was “liked” and well tolerated, suggesting that subjects would comply with buprenorphine treatment despite the lack of reinforcing effects. A mild increase in subjective withdrawal symptoms, which was not clinically significant, was seen in association with an increase in saccadic peak velocity on day 2 of the study but no withdrawal occurred on the other days, indicating that the abrupt transfer technique was acceptable. |
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Bibliography: | istex:EDB14C6EEC2834C112FDA727A48C22EC6A5230CF ark:/67375/WNG-8NDVNF1H-M ArticleID:ADB191 ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 |
ISSN: | 1355-6215 1369-1600 |
DOI: | 10.1080/13556219772732 |