Buprenorphine implant: First evaluations on its use in the real world

Journal title MISSION
Author/s Roberta Marenzi, Liliana Praticò, Andrea Corbetta, Giovanni Plebani, Manuel Cornolti, Marta Vaiarini, Marco Riglietta
Publishing Year 2024 Issue 2024/67
Language Italian Pages 3 P. 20-22 File size 0 KB
DOI 10.3280/mis67-2024oa18421
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

View article Download Open Access article

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

Opioid use disorder (DUO) is still the most common pathology in the population attending outpatient addiction services. All international guidelines define treatment with opioid agonists as the Gold Standard of treatment ((1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Despite this, in Italy the estimate of coverage with this therapy of people with a DUO  is just over 40% (6). DUO can be treated through maintenance therapy with opioids in combination with psychosocial support, but to be effective, maintenance therapy with opioids must be maintained regularly for a prolonged period of time. Buprenorphine (BPN) is one of the most common pharmacological treatments and to date is based on the intake of tablets or sublingual film. In recent years, Long Acting injectable formulations have been introduced onto the market in weekly or monthly preparations and a formulation as a subcutaneous implant lasting 6 months. Buprenorphine implants allow for a more flexible treatment pathway with individualized approaches and have been associated with important benefits for both patient quality of life and burden on health systems. In this article we describe the clinical experience conducted in an outpatient addiction service

Keywords: ; Drug addiction; Opioids; Opioid agonist treatment; Buprenorphine; Buprenorphine implant

  1. Drug misuse and dependence: UK guidelines on clinical management - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
  2. The ASAM National Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder: 2020 Focused Update. J Addict Med., 2020 Mar/Apr, 14(2S Suppl 1): 1-91. DOI: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000633. Erratum in: J Addict Med., 2020 May/Jun, 14(3): 267. Doi: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000683
  3. Management of opioid use disorders: a national clinical practice guideline. CMAJ, 2018, March 5, 190: E247-57. DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.170958
  4. Methadone and buprenorphine for the management of opioid dependence. Published: 24 January 2007, nice.org.uk/guidance/ta114.
  5. Guidelines for the Psychosocially_Assisted Pharmacological Treatment_of Opioid Dependence © World Health Organization 2009.
  6. Drug Report 2024 EUDA European Drug Report 2024: Trends and Developments | www.euda.europa.eu.

Roberta Marenzi, Liliana Praticò, Andrea Corbetta, Giovanni Plebani, Manuel Cornolti, Marta Vaiarini, Marco Riglietta, Buprenorfina impianto sottocutaneo: prime valutazioni sull’utilizzo in un SerD in "MISSION" 67/2024, pp 20-22, DOI: 10.3280/mis67-2024oa18421