Buprenorphine Treatment for Hospitalized, Opioid-Dependent Patients

IMPORTANCE

Buprenorphine opioid agonist treatment (OAT) has established efficacy for treating opioid dependency among persons seeking addiction treatment. However, effectiveness for out-of-treatment, hospitalized patients is not known.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether buprenorphine administration during medical hospitalization and linkage to office-based buprenorphine OAT after discharge increase entry into office-based OAT, increase sustained engagement in OAT, and decrease illicit opioid use at 6 months after hospitalization.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

From August 1, 2009, through October 31, 2012, a total of 663 hospitalized, opioid-dependent patients in a general medical hospital were identified. Of these, 369 did not meet eligibility criteria. A total of 145 eligible patients consented to participation in the randomized clinical trial. Of these, 139 completed the baseline interview and were assigned to the detoxification (n = 67) or linkage (n = 72) group.

INTERVENTIONS

Five-day buprenorphine detoxification protocol or buprenorphine induction, intrahospital dose stabilization, and postdischarge transition to maintenance buprenorphine OAT affiliated with the hospital’s primary care clinic (linkage).

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Entry and sustained engagement with buprenorphine OAT at 1, 3, and 6 months (medical record verified) and prior 30-day use of illicit opioids (self-report).

RESULTS

During follow-up, linkage participants were more likely to enter buprenorphine OAT than those in the detoxification group (52 [72.2%] vs 8 [11.9%], P < .001). At 6 months, 12 linkage participants (16.7%) and 2 detoxification participants (3.0%) were receiving buprenorphine OAT (P = .007). Compared with those in the detoxification group, participants randomized to the linkage group reported less illicit opioid use in the 30 days before the 6-month interview (incidence rate ratio, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.46-0.73; P < .01) in an intent-to-treat analysis.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Compared with an inpatient detoxification protocol, initiation of and linkage to buprenorphine treatment is an effective means for engaging medically hospitalized patients who are not seeking addiction treatment and reduces illicit opioid use 6 months after hospitalization. However, maintaining engagement in treatment remains a challenge.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:

Level 3 Prognostic.

Below:  Distribution of Rates of Illicit Opioid Use During Follow-up Assessment by Intervention in 116 Individuals. 

A, Detoxification group; B, linkage group. To facilitate description, rates were calculated as days of illicit opioid use per 30 follow-up days using all available data, including the mean of all assessments for each study participant with multiple follow-up data or any follow-up time point for participants with one time point.

Full article at:   http://goo.gl/zwTQgS

By:  Jane M. Liebschutz, MD, MPH, Denise Crooks, MPH, Debra Herman, PhD, Bradley Anderson, PhD, Judith Tsui, MD, MPH, Lidia Z. Meshesha, BA, Shernaz Dossabhoy, BA, and Michael Stein, MD

Clinical Addiction Research and Education Unit, Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts (Liebschutz, Crooks, Tsui, Dossabhoy); Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts (Liebschutz, Tsui); Department of General Internal Medicine, Butler Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island (Herman, Anderson, Stein); Department of Medicine, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island (Herman, Anderson, Stein); Department of Psychology, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee (Meshesha).

Corresponding Author: Jane M. Liebschutz, MD, MPH, Boston Medical Center, 801 Massachusetts Ave, Second Floor, Boston, MA 02118 

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