title: Efficacy of daily and alternate-day dosing regimens with the combination buprenorphine-naloxone tablet.
abstract: This study evaluated the efficacy of a combination tablet formulation of buprenorphine containing 8 mg of buprenorphine and 2 mg of naloxone for every other day treatment and whether increasing the daily maintenance dose was essential for maintaining an efficacious alternate-day treatment. Twenty-six opioid-dependent outpatients completing a 16-day baseline entered a double-blind, placebo-controlled, triple crossover trial. Twenty-one days of daily combination tablet administration were compared to two different 21-day periods of alternate-day buprenorphine administration where subjects received either 8 or 16 mg of the combination tablet every other day with placebo on the interposed day. Fifty-four percent (14/26) of subjects completed the study, but only two subjects dropped out during the 16-mg alternate-day condition. Rates of medication compliance, illicit opioid use and subject- and observer-rated measures of opioid effects did not distinguish daily from alternate-day treatments in subjects completing the study. However, pupillary diameter was significantly increased during 8-mg alternate-day compared to the 8-mg daily or 16-mg alternate-day treatment. These data replicate earlier findings describing the acceptability of alternate-day buprenorphine treatment using multiples of the daily maintenance dose and extend these findings by establishing the clinical efficacy of daily and alternate-day dosing regimens with the combination buprenorphine naloxone tablet. This study also suggests slightly improved outcomes during alternate-day treatment using multiples of the daily dose.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Vine Street Center, Denver 80206, USA. leslie.amass@uchsc.edu
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Amass
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Kamien
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Mikulich
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002047:Buprenorphine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009270:Naloxone / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011680:Pupil / Q000187:drug effects; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D004338:Drug Combinations; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists; D009270:Naloxone; D002047:Buprenorphine