TY - JOUR
T1 - Low-dose Buprenorphine Initiation in Hospitalized Adults With Opioid Use Disorder
T2 - A Retrospective Cohort Analysis
AU - Button, Dana
AU - Hartley, Jennifer
AU - Robbins, Jonathan
AU - Levander, Ximena A.
AU - Smith, Natashia J.
AU - Englander, Honora
N1 - Funding Information:
IMPACT is funded by Oregon Health - Science University and CareOregon. Dr. Englander is supported by grants from National Institute on Drug Abuse (UG1DA015815). This publication was also made possible with support from the Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute (OCTRI), grant number UL1TR002369 from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and NIH Roadmap for Medical Research.
Funding Information:
IMPACT is funded by Oregon Health & Science University and CareOregon. Dr. Englander is supported by grants from National Institute on Drug Abuse (UG1DA015815). This publication was also made possible with support from the Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute (OCTRI), grant number UL1TR002369 from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. The authors would like to acknowledge the entire IMPACT clinical and research teams.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.
PY - 2022/3/1
Y1 - 2022/3/1
N2 - Objectives:Patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) can initiate buprenorphine without requiring a withdrawal period through a low-dose (sometimes referred to as "micro-induction") approach. Although there is growing interest in low-dose buprenorphine initiation, current evidence is limited to case reports and small case series.Methods:We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with OUD seen by a hospital-based addiction medicine consult service who underwent low-dose buprenorphine initiation starting during hospital admission. We then integrated our practice-based experiences with results from the existing literature to create practice considerations.Results:Sixty-eight individuals underwent 72 low-dose buprenorphine initiations between July 2019 and July 2020. Reasons for low-dose versus standard buprenorphine initiation included co-occurring pain (91.7%), patient anxiety around the possibility of withdrawal (69.4%), history of precipitated withdrawal (9.7%), opioid withdrawal intolerance (6.9%), and other reason/not specified (18.1%). Of the 72 low-dose buprenorphine initiations, 50 (69.4%) were completed in the hospital, 9 (12.5%) transitioned to complete as an outpatient, and 13 (18.1%) were terminated early. We apply our experiences and findings from literature to recommendations for varied clinical scenarios, including acute illness, co-occurring pain, opioid withdrawal intolerance, transition from high dose methadone to buprenorphine, history of precipitated withdrawal, and rapid hospital discharge. We share a standard low-dose initiation protocol with potential modifications based on above scenarios.Conclusions:Low-dose buprenorphine initiation offers a well-tolerated and versatile approach for hospitalized patients with OUD. We share lessons from our experiences and the literature, and provide practical considerations for providers.
AB - Objectives:Patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) can initiate buprenorphine without requiring a withdrawal period through a low-dose (sometimes referred to as "micro-induction") approach. Although there is growing interest in low-dose buprenorphine initiation, current evidence is limited to case reports and small case series.Methods:We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with OUD seen by a hospital-based addiction medicine consult service who underwent low-dose buprenorphine initiation starting during hospital admission. We then integrated our practice-based experiences with results from the existing literature to create practice considerations.Results:Sixty-eight individuals underwent 72 low-dose buprenorphine initiations between July 2019 and July 2020. Reasons for low-dose versus standard buprenorphine initiation included co-occurring pain (91.7%), patient anxiety around the possibility of withdrawal (69.4%), history of precipitated withdrawal (9.7%), opioid withdrawal intolerance (6.9%), and other reason/not specified (18.1%). Of the 72 low-dose buprenorphine initiations, 50 (69.4%) were completed in the hospital, 9 (12.5%) transitioned to complete as an outpatient, and 13 (18.1%) were terminated early. We apply our experiences and findings from literature to recommendations for varied clinical scenarios, including acute illness, co-occurring pain, opioid withdrawal intolerance, transition from high dose methadone to buprenorphine, history of precipitated withdrawal, and rapid hospital discharge. We share a standard low-dose initiation protocol with potential modifications based on above scenarios.Conclusions:Low-dose buprenorphine initiation offers a well-tolerated and versatile approach for hospitalized patients with OUD. We share lessons from our experiences and the literature, and provide practical considerations for providers.
KW - buprenorphine
KW - hospital
KW - induction
KW - microdose
KW - opioid-related disorders
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U2 - 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000864
DO - 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000864
M3 - Article
C2 - 34001775
AN - SCOPUS:85115178549
SN - 1932-0620
VL - 16
SP - E105-E111
JO - Journal of Addiction Medicine
JF - Journal of Addiction Medicine
IS - 2
ER -