Patients With OUD Who Receive Extended-Release Naltrexone May Be More Likely to Stay in Treatment

Naltrexone is a proven treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), but its clinical usefulness, when taken orally, has been limited by poor adherence among patients, according to several studies. Astudy inAJP in Advance now suggests that patients with OUD may be twice as likely to stay in therapy if they receive monthly injections of extended-release naltrexone (XR-naltrexone) following opioid withdrawal compared with daily oral naltrexone."These study findings have immediate clinical relevance for treatment of opioid use disorder at a time when an opioid epidemic continues unabated in the United States," wrote Maria Sullivan, M.D., Ph.D., of Columbia University and colleagues. "Given that postdetoxification outpatient treatment without pharmacotherapy yields poor completion rates, high...

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