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Clinical Trial
. 2002 Oct;23(3):163-9.
doi: 10.1016/s0740-5472(02)00244-1.

Heroin detoxification with buprenorphine on an inpatient psychiatric unit

Bethany A DiPaula  1 , Robert Schwartz, Ivan D Montoya, David Barrett, Cecilia Tang
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Heroin detoxification with buprenorphine on an inpatient psychiatric unit

Bethany A DiPaula et al. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2002 Oct.

Abstract

The purpose of this open-label, uncontrolled study was to evaluate the feasibility of administering off-label buprenorphine in combination with ancillary medications for inpatient short-term detoxification of heroin-dependent patients at a psychiatric facility. A sample of 20 heroin-dependent patients admitted to an urban psychiatric hospital was administered buprenorphine 6, 4, and 2 mg/day during the first, second, and third day of detoxification, respectively, and then observed during the fourth and fifth day. Eighty-five percent of the subjects abused other substances, 75% reported cocaine abuse/dependence, 75% had comorbid mood disorders. All subjects completed the medication phase of the study. No clinically significant adverse events were reported. There was a significant decrease in the Clinical Investigation Narcotic Assessment (CINA) total score between baseline and days 2 through 5. The results suggest that buprenorphine is well tolerated and may be beneficial for medically supervised short-term withdrawal from heroin for hospitalized psychiatric patients.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Mean (SE) CINA scores for all patients completing the 3-day buprenorphine detoxification (n = 20).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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