Buprenorphine versus methadone maintenance for the treatment of opioid dependence

Autor(en)

Wolfgang Gombas, Harald Eder, Reinhold Jagsch, Alexandra Peternell, Siegfried Kasper

Abstrakt

Aims. To evaluate the effectiveness of buprenorphine compared with methadone maintenance therapy in opiate addicts over a treatment period of 24 weeks. Design. Subjects were randomized to receive either buprenorphine or methadone in an open, comparative study. Setting. Subjects were recruited and treated at the drug addiction outpatient clinic at the University of Vienna. Participants. Sixty subjects (19 females and 41 males) who met DSM-IV criteria for opioid dependence and were seeking treatment. Intervention. Subjects received either sublingual buprenorphine (2-mg or 8-mg tablets; maximum daily dose 8 mg) or oral methadone (racemic D-/+ L-methadone; maximum daily dose 80 mg). A stable dose was maintained following the 6-day induction phase. Measurement. Assessment of treatment retention and illicit substance use (opiates, cocaine and benzodiazepines) was made by urinalysis. Findings. The retention rate was significantly better in the methadone maintained group (p < 0.05) but subjects completing the study in the buprenorphine group had significantly lower rates of illicit opiate consumption (p = 0.04). Conclusion. The results support the superiority of methadone with respect to retention rate. However, they also confirm previous reports of buprenorphine use as an alternative in maintenance therapy for opiate addiction, suggesting that a specific subgroup may be benefiting from buprenorphine. This is the first comparative trial to use sublingual buprenorphine tablets: previously published comparison studies refer to 30% solutions of buprenorphine in alcohol.

Organisation(en)

Institut für Klinische und Gesundheitspsychologie

Externe Organisation(en)

Medizinische Universität Wien

Journal

Addiction

Band

94

Seiten

1337-1347

Anzahl der Seiten

11

ISSN

0965-2140

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1360-0443.1999.94913376.x

Publikationsdatum

01-1999

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

501002 Angewandte Psychologie

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Medicine (miscellaneous), Psychiatry and Mental health

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 3 – Gesundheit und Wohlergehen

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/61fe8eb1-e6c6-4d2b-9bac-9ddcb1a12c36