Abstract
For patients with opioid use disorder transitioning from methadone or requiring opioid analgesia, initiating buprenorphine for opioid use disorder can be difficult because of the risk of precipitated withdrawal. Low-dose initiation, also known as micro-dosing, is an alternative to standard initiation. Prior studies relied on nonstandard dosing of tablets or films, patches, or buccal formulations, all of which are unavailable in many hospitals. We report a novel approach to micro-dosing using intravenous buprenorphine. Two patients, one on methadone maintenance and another requiring postoperative opioid analgesia, were transitioned to buprenorphine with concurrent full-agonist opioids and without precipitated withdrawal.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 122-124 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Journal of addiction medicine |
Volume | 16 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2022 |
Keywords
- buprenorphine
- inpatients
- micro-dosing
- opioids
- pain
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Pharmacology (medical)