Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2007 Mar-Apr;5(2):146-50.
doi: 10.1370/afm.665.

Treating opioid addiction with buprenorphine-naloxone in community-based primary care settings

Ira L Mintzer  1 , Mark Eisenberg, Maria Terra, Casey MacVane, David U Himmelstein, Steffie Woolhandler
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Treating opioid addiction with buprenorphine-naloxone in community-based primary care settings

Ira L Mintzer et al. Ann Fam Med. 2007 Mar-Apr.

Abstract

Purpose: Office-based treatment of opioid addiction with a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone was approved in 2002. Efficacy of this treatment in non-research clinical settings has not been studied. We examined the efficacy and practicality of buprenorphine-naloxone treatment in primary care settings.

Methods: We studied a cohort of 99 consecutive patients enrolled in buprenorphine-naloxone treatment for opioid dependence at 2 urban primary care practices: a hospital-based primary care clinic, and a primary care practice in a free-standing neighborhood health center. The primary outcome measure was sobriety at 6 months as judged by the treating physician based on periodic urine drug tests, as well as frequent physical examinations and questioning of the patients about substance use.

Results: Fifty-four percent of patients were sober at 6 months. There was no significant correlation between sobriety and site of care, drug of choice, neighborhood poverty level, or dose of buprenorphine-naloxone. Sobriety was correlated with private insurance status, older age, length of treatment, and attending self-help meetings.

Conclusions: Opioid-addicted patients can be safely and effectively treated in non-research primary care settings with limited on-site resources. Our findings suggest that greater numbers of patients should have access to buprenorphine-naloxone treatment in nonspecialized settings.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Pani PP, Maremmani I, Pirastu R, Tagliamonte A, Gessa GL. Buprenorphine: a controlled clinical trial in the treatment of opioid dependence. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2000;60(1):39–50. - PubMed
    1. Johnson RE, Jaffe JH, Fudala PJ. A controlled trial of buprenorphine treatment for opioid dependence. JAMA. 1992;267(20):2750–2755. - PubMed
    1. Fudala PJ, Bridge TP, Herbert S, et al. Office-based treatment of opiate addiction with a sublingual-tablet formulation of buprenorphine and naloxone. N Engl J Med. 2003;349(10):949–958. - PubMed
    1. Mattick RP, Kimber J, Breen C, Davoli M. Buprenorphine maintenance versus placebo or methadone maintenance for opioid dependence. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2003(2):CD002207. - PubMed
    1. Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) Geocoding System. Available at: http://www.ffiec.gov/Geocode/Geocode-Searchmapping.