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Review
. 2017 Aug 1;14(7-8):8-19.
eCollection 2017 Jul-Aug.

Methadone Treatment of Opiate Addiction: A Systematic Review of Comparative Studies

Shahid Ali  1 , Barira Tahir  1 , Shagufta Jabeen  1 , Madeeha Malik  1
Affiliations
Review

Methadone Treatment of Opiate Addiction: A Systematic Review of Comparative Studies

Shahid Ali et al. Innov Clin Neurosci. .

Abstract

Opiate misuse is a chronic relapsing disease that has become an epidemic in the United States. Methadone is the mainstay of treatment for opiate addiction and has been researched widely. Recently, new avenues of treatment have been researched and developed. The objective of this review is to study methadone in comparison to other pharmacological options available or being considered for opiate addiction treatment through a methodical search and review of evidence provided by recent clinical trials conducted in this regard. There is a paucity of high quality randomized controlled trials focusing on the comparison between buprenorphine and methadone for treatment of opiate use disorder. Buprenorphine should be researched more for patient retention and satisfaction, as well as for its prospect for better outcomes in neonatal abstinence syndrome to generate more decisive recommendations. Current data suggest monitoring of liver enzymes with the use of buprenorphine/naloxone for better liver outcomes. In light of the analyzed data, the authors conclude that methadone should still be considered the preferred treatment mode in comparison to slow-release oral morphine and heroin.

Keywords: Methadone; buphernorphin; heroin; opiate; opiate addiction; treatment; withdrawal.

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Figures

FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 1.
Flow chart of the search
FIGURE 2.
FIGURE 2.
Reviewers’ assessment of risk of bias in all studies
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Risk of bias in individual studies
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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