Preventive medicine
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Fewer than 20% of Americans with opioid use disorder receive empirically-supported treatment. There is a critical need for innovative approaches to support expansion of evidence-based opioid treatment, particularly in rural geographic areas so impacted by the current opioid public health crisis. Doing so will require more diverse pathways into treatment, novel pharmacological tools, improved integration and efficiency among treatment modalities, and harm reduction when treatment is not available. In this invited commentary, we review exciting recent efforts to accomplish these aims as well as offer additional considerations for future clinical and research efforts to increase the availability of treatment for opioid use disorder.
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Nonfatal opioid overdose is a significant risk factor for subsequent fatal overdose. The time after a nonfatal overdose may provide a critical engagement opportunity to both reduce subsequent overdose risk and link individuals to treatment. Post-overdose interventions have emerged in affected communities throughout the United States (US). The objective of this scoping review is to identify US-based post-overdose intervention models (1) described in peer-reviewed literature and (2) implemented in public health and community settings. ⋯ Programs are emerging throughout the US to care for individuals after a nonfatal opioid overdose. There is variability in the timing, components, and follow-up in these programs and little is known about their effectiveness. Future work should focus on evaluation and testing of post-overdose programs so that best practices for care can be implemented.
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Preventive medicine · Nov 2019
Sensitivity of hypothetical purchase task indices when studying substance use: A systematic literature review.
Hypothetical Purchase Tasks (HPTs) simulate demand for a substance as a function of escalating price. HPTs are increasingly used to examine relationships between substance-related correlates and outcomes and demand typically characterized using a common battery of indices (Intensity, Omax, Pmax, Breakpoint, Elasticity). This review examines the relative sensitivity of the HPT indices. ⋯ The largest effect sizes were observed for Intensity (0.75 ± 0.04, CI 0.67-0.84) and Omax (0.64 ± 0.04, CI 0.56-0.71), followed by Elasticity (0.44 ± 0.04, CI 0.37-0.51), Breakpoint (0.30 ± 0.03, CI 0.25-0.36), and Pmax (0.25 ± 0.04, CI 0.18-0.33). Patterns were largely consistent across substances. In conclusion, HPTs can be highly effective in revealing relationships between demand and substance-related correlates and outcomes, with Intensity and Omax exhibiting the greatest sensitivity.
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Preventive medicine · Nov 2019
Comparative StudyRisk of death associated with kratom use compared to opioids.
Kratom use appears to be increasing across the United States, increasing attention to deaths in which kratom use was detected. Most such deaths have been ascribed to fentanyl, heroin, benzodiazepines, prescription opioids, cocaine and other causes (e.g., homicide, suicide and various preexisting diseases). Because kratom has certain opioid-like effects (e.g., pain relief), and is used by some people as a substitute for opioids for pain or addiction, kratom has been compared to "narcotic-like opioids" (e.g., morphine) with respect to risk of death despite evidence that its primary alkaloid, mitragynine, carries little of the signature respiratory depressing effects of morphine-like opioids. ⋯ By any of our assessments, it appears that the risk of overdose death is >1000 times greater for opioids than for kratom. The limitations of the mortality risk estimate warrants caution in individuals with unknown factors such as use of other substances and medications, or other preexisting conditions. More research on kratom safety and risks is needed, as is regulation of commercial kratom products to ensure that consumers are informed by FDA labeling and that kratom products are not contaminated or adulterated with other substances.
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Preventive medicine · Nov 2019
Patient perceptions of treatment with medication treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in the Vermont hub-and-spoke system.
In 2013, Vermont leaders implemented the "hub-and-spoke" (H & S) system to increase access to medication treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD). "Hubs" are licensed specialty opioid treatment programs (OTPs) with the authority to dispense buprenorphine/naloxone and methadone. "Spokes" are primary care practices that provide office-based opioid treatment, primarily with buprenorphine/naloxone. This report describes the qualitative component of an evaluation of the H&S system, conducted in 2016. The qualitative data collection assessed patient perspectives about the positive and negative aspects of treatment in the H & S system. ⋯ Participants treated in spokes reported a positive treatment environment, minimal stigma, and few obstacles to treatment and a strong positive relationship with their prescriber. Hub patients valued the MOUD and expressed gratitude for having access to MOUD, but reported the treatment environment was somewhat challenging, with long lines and drug talk in the clinic, high staff turnover and "cookie cutter" treatment. There appear to be some differences in patient perceptions of MOUD treatment between patients treated in primary care settings and specialized OTP settings.