Treatment of opioid-dependent adolescents and young adults with buprenorphine.
Rising rates of opioid use among teenagers and young adults are a public health concern. Despite short durations of opioid use compared with those of adults, youth with opioid dependence have a host of co-occurring conditions, including polysubstance abuse, psychiatric disorders, hepatitis C infection, HIV risk, and high-risk sexual and criminal behaviors. Opioid-dependent youth typically are offered outpatient/residential treatment with brief detoxification, but one study showed that heroin users fare worse following residential treatment. Although abundant research supports the use of medication-assisted treatment for opioid-dependent adults, research is only recently emerging for youth. Buprenorphine, a partial opioid agonist, was proven safe and effective in improving abstinence from opioids in two controlled clinical trials. More research is needed to determine several clinically relevant areas: appropriate duration of agonist treatment, ways to enhance medication adherence, the value of integrated treatments for co-occurring conditions, and the role of opioid antagonists in opioid-dependent youth.
Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University, c/o Mountain Manor Treatment Center, 3800 Frederick Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21229, USA. gsubram@jhmi.edu
Geetha A
GA
Subramaniam
Marc J
MJ
Fishman
George
G
Woody
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002047:Buprenorphine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D055815:Young Adult
D009292:Narcotic Antagonists; D002047:Buprenorphine