Effects of a high-dose fast tapering buprenorphine detoxification program on symptom relief and treatment retention

Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
Tom Palmstierna

Abstract

A large number of patients with heroin dependency fail to enter a treatment program because of dropping out during or immediately after detoxification. This article presents an open study of symptom relief of 10 patients withdrawing from heroin with a high-dose rapid tapering buprenorphine detoxification protocol. It also presents a pseudo-experimental comparison between 208 patients treated with a clonidine/dextropropoxiphene detoxification protocol and 246 patients treated with the high-dose rapid tapering buprenorphine detoxification protocol to evaluate differences in patients' ability to continue in treatment of addiction immediately after detoxification. The results indicate that 24 mg of sublingually administered buprenorphine beginning when the patient judges himself to be in a withdrawal state followed by another three days of daily administered and rapidly decreased doses resulted in a significant reduction of withdrawal symptoms. Also, when the clonidine/dextropropoxiphene protocol was replaced with this buprenorphine protocol the number of patients continuing in treatment immediately after discharge from the detoxification ward increased from 41.3% to 58.1%. Buprenorphine given in high doses with rapid tapering when...Continue Reading

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Citations

Feb 20, 2007·Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment·Anne E KovasJames A Thayer
Mar 22, 2007·Journal of Psychoactive Drugs·Kathleen Ang-LeePatricia C Knox
Aug 11, 2017·The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse·Gregory RudolfVania Rudolf

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