ReviewJournal of addictive diseases2012
Maintenance medication for opiate addiction: the foundation of recovery.
Review in Journal of addictive diseases, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 169 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
169 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 460 citations in OpenAlex.
- Oral and injectable opioid agonist treatments for people who use street opioids: a systematic literature review and network meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Leveraging the role of community pharmacists in the prevention, surveillance, and treatment of opioid use disorders.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2019Pooled it
- Retention in medication-assisted treatment for opiate dependence: A systematic review.Journal of addictive diseases · 2016Pooled it
- Does perceived stigma impact opioid use disorder treatment uptake? A cross-sectional secondary analysis of buprenorphine engagement among syringe service program participants.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2026Trial
- Patients' experiences of continued treatment with extended-release naltrexone: a Norwegian qualitative study.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Sleep reductions associated with illicit opioid use and clinic-hour changes during opioid agonist treatment for opioid dependence: Measurement by electronic diary and actigraphy.Journal of substance abuse treatment · 2019Trial
- Effects of access barriers and medication acceptability on buprenorphine-naloxone treatment utilization over 2 years: Results from a multisite randomized trial of adults with opioid use disorder.Journal of substance abuse treatment · 2019Trial
- Correlates of Long-Term Opioid Abstinence After Randomization to Methadone Versus Buprenorphine/Naloxone in a Multi-Site Trial.Journal of neuroimmune pharmacology : the official journal of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology · 2018Trial
- Re-engineering methadone-Cost-effectiveness analysis of a patient-centered approach to methadone treatment.Journal of substance abuse treatment · 2018Trial
- Long-term outcomes after randomization to buprenorphine/naloxone versus methadone in a multi-site trial.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2016Trial
- Clonidine Maintenance Prolongs Opioid Abstinence and Decouples Stress From Craving in Daily Life: A Randomized Controlled Trial With Ecological Momentary Assessment.The American journal of psychiatry · 2015Trial
- Comparison of buprenorphine treatment by virtual-only vs. traditional clinicians.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2026Article
- Using structured analysis and design technique to characterize barriers and facilitators to outpatient care coordination after emergency department-initiated buprenorphine.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2026Article
- Brief Report on screening data from a randomized controlled trial of in-hospital buprenorphine initiation strategies.Research square · 2026Article
- Social context in renewal of cocaine and fentanyl seeking: role of peer presence versus peer absence.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Operationalizing Contingency Management to Improve Adherence and Retention in Methadone Treatment: A Scoping Review.Substance use & misuse · 2026Article
- Efficacy of the GLP-1 receptor agonist, semaglutide, in abstinence from illicit and nonprescribed opioids in an outpatient population with OUD: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial protocol.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2025Article
- Perspectives on medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) access and service delivery among a community sample of people who use opioids in Los Angeles.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2025Article
- Expanding the scope of the withdrawal syndrome: Anhedonia as a core nicotine withdrawal symptom.Journal of psychopathology and clinical science · 2025Observational
109 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Illicit use of opiates is the fastest growing substance use problem in the United States, and the main reason for seeking addiction treatment services for illicit drug use throughout the world. It is associated with significant morbidity and mortality related to human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis C, and overdose. Treatment for opiate addiction requires long-term management. Behavioral interventions alone have extremely poor outcomes, with more than 80% of patients returning to drug use. Similarly poor results are seen with medication-assisted detoxification. This article provides a topical review of the three medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration for long-term treatment of opiate dependence: the opioid-agonist methadone, the partial opioid-agonist buprenorphine, and the opioid-antagonist naltrexone. Basic mechanisms of action and treatment outcomes are described for each medication. Results indicate that maintenance medication provides the best opportunity for patients to achieve recovery from opiate addiction. Extensive literature and systematic reviews show that maintenance treatment with either methadone or buprenorphine is associated with retention in treatment, reduction in illicit opiate use, decreased craving, and improved social function. Oral naltrexone is ineffective in treating opiate addiction, but recent studies using extended-release naltrexone injections have shown promise. Although no direct comparisons between extended-release naltrexone injections and either methadone or buprenorphine exist, indirect comparison of retention shows inferior outcome compared with methadone and buprenorphine. Further work is needed to directly compare each medication and determine individual factors that can assist in medication selection. Until such time, selection of medication should be based on informed choice following a discussion of outcomes, risks, and benefits of each medication.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.