This retrospective case series evaluated whether long-acting injectable buprenorphine could be started during hospitalization with a shorter-than-standard period of sublingual or intravenous buprenorphine treatment. Researchers reviewed records for 46 patients treated at a safety-net community hospital, including initiation methods, withdrawal events and outpatient follow-up.
Forty of the 46 patients (87%) received the injection after fewer than seven days of sublingual or intravenous buprenorphine. Two patients experienced precipitated withdrawal during initiation, and none experienced precipitated withdrawal after the long-acting injection. Twenty-three patients (50%) attended an addiction medicine follow-up appointment within 30 days after discharge. The authors suggest that inpatient initiation may help connect patients to ongoing care, although this uncontrolled case series cannot establish comparative effectiveness.
Original summary for clinical review. Read the published abstract.
