Use and misuse of opioid agonists in opioid addiction

Vania Modesto-Lowe; Katie Swiezbin; Margaret Chaplin; Gabriela Hoefer

doi:10.3949/ccjm.84a.16091

Use and misuse of opioid agonists in opioid addiction

Cleve Clin J Med. 2017 May;84(5):377-384. doi: 10.3949/ccjm.84a.16091.

Authors

Vania Modesto-Lowe^{1

2

3}, Katie Swiezbin², Margaret Chaplin^{3

4}, Gabriela Hoefer⁵

Affiliations

¹ Connecticut Valley Hospital, Middletown, CT, USA. vania.modesto-lowe@ct.gov.
² Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT, USA.
³ University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA.
⁴ Community Mental Health Affiliates, New Britain, CT, USA.
⁵ Samford University, Birmingham, AL, USA.

PMID: 28530896
DOI: 10.3949/ccjm.84a.16091

Abstract

Although methadone (an opioid agonist) and buprenorphine (a partial opioid agonist) have evidence to support their use in treating opioid use disorder, they remain misunderstood and underutilized. In this article, we outline the risks and benefits of using these drugs as maintenance therapy in opioid-dependent patients.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Analgesics, Opioid / therapeutic use*
Buprenorphine / therapeutic use*
Humans
Methadone / therapeutic use*
Opiate Substitution Treatment / trends*
Opioid-Related Disorders / drug therapy*
Opioid-Related Disorders / epidemiology
Prevalence
United States / epidemiology

Substances

Analgesics, Opioid
Buprenorphine
Methadone