Drug and alcohol dependence
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Jul 2017
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyA phase III, randomized, multi-center, double blind, placebo controlled study of safety and efficacy of lofexidine for relief of symptoms in individuals undergoing inpatient opioid withdrawal.
Lofexidine is an alpha-2-adrenergic receptor agonist approved in the United Kingdom (UK) for the treatment of opioid withdrawal symptoms. Lofexidine has demonstrated better efficacy than placebo for reducing opioid withdrawal symptoms in patients undergoing opioid withdrawal with less reported hypotension than clonidine. ⋯ Lofexidine significantly decreased SOWS scores compared to placebo and demonstrated better retention rates in participants undergoing opioid withdrawal. Lofexidine potentially offers a useful non-opioid alternative to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Jul 2017
Randomized Controlled TrialSafety profile of injectable hydromorphone and diacetylmorphine for long-term severe opioid use disorder.
To review the safety profile of injectable hydromorphone and diacetylmorphine and explore if adverse events (AEs) or serious adverse events (SAEs) were associated with dose and patterns of attendance. ⋯ When injectable hydromorphone and diacetylmorphine are individually dosed and monitored, their opioid-related side effects, including potential fatal overdoses, are safely mitigated and treated by health care providers. In the midst of an opioid overdose epidemic, injectable options are timely to reach a very important minority of people who inject street opioids and are not attracted to other treatments.