0000000000555417
AUTHOR
María Teresa Bobes-bascarán
Treatments for Opioid Dependence and Methadone
Abstract This chapter is focused on opioid dependence treatment and is framed in a holistic perspective. Specifically, there are three main approaches to pharmacological treatment of opioid dependence: opioid detoxification, agonist maintenance, and antagonist maintenance. There is a great amount of evidence supporting the efficacy of methadone and buprenorphine or the combination of buprenorphine–naloxone for the treatment of opioid withdrawal and their clinical utility as pharmacotherapy in long-term maintenance programs. Secondary or adjunctive medications such as heroin, naltrexone, and alpha-2-adrenergics are also reviewed. The need for further research and to overcome nonscientificall…
Long term outcomes of pharmacological treatments for opioid dependence: does methadone still lead the pack?
The aim of this review was to update and summarize the scientific knowledge on the long term outcomes of the different pharmacological treatment options for opioid dependence currently available and to provide a critical discussion on the different treatment options based on these results. We performed a literature search using the PubMed databases and the reference lists of the identified articles. Data from research show that the three pharmacological options reviewed are effective treatments for opioid dependence with positive long term outcomes. However, each one has its specific target population and setting. While methadone and buprenorphine are first line options, heroin-assisted tre…