Comparative treatment and mortality correlates and adverse event profile of implant naltrexone and sublingual buprenorphine.

Abstract

There is increasing interest in the use of implantable naltrexone as a new treatment for opiate dependence. This center has been one of the leaders in this form of treatment in Australia and has recently completed a registry-controlled review of our mortality data. As part of the study of the safety profile of this therapy, we were interested to review both the treatment correlates of previously presented mortality data and of adverse events. A total of 255 naltrexone implant therapy (NIT) and 2,518 buprenorphine (BUP) patients were followed for 1,322.22 and 8,030.02 patient-years, respectively. NIT patients had significantly longer days in treatment per episode (mean +/- standard deviation, 238.32 +/- 110.11 vs. 46.96 +/- 109.79), total treatment duration (371.21 +/- 284.64 vs. 162.50 +/- 245.76), and mean treatment times but fewer treatment episodes than BUP (all p < .0001). Serious local tissue reaction or infection each occurred in 1% of 200 NIT episodes. These data show that NIT economizes treatment resources without compromising safety concerns.

• Authors: Albert Stuart Reece
• Journal: Journal of substance abuse treatment (J Subst Abuse Treat) Vol. 37 Issue 3 Pg. 256-65 (Oct 2009) ISSN: 1873-6483 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 19394789 (Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Drug Implants
• Narcotic Antagonists
• Buprenorphine
• Naltrexone

Topics

• Administration, Sublingual
• Adult
• Australia
• Buprenorphine (administration & dosage, adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Drug Implants
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Humans
• Male
• Naltrexone (administration & dosage, adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Narcotic Antagonists (administration & dosage, adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Opioid-Related Disorders (drug therapy, mortality, rehabilitation)
• Registries
• Substance Abuse Treatment Centers (statistics & numerical data)
• Time Factors
• Treatment Outcome