ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2016
Characteristics of veterans receiving buprenorphine vs. methadone for opioid use disorder nationally in the Veterans Health Administration.
Article in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
31 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 58 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mortality risk during and after opioid substitution treatment: systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2017Pooled it
- Differences in benefits of office based opioid treatment: Secondary analyses across sub-groups in the PROUD randomized controlled implementation trial.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Trial
- Differences in buprenorphine initiation and retention for opioid use disorder between primary care and substance use disorder specialty care settings.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2026Article
- Harm reduction engagement and ongoing opioid use among adults receiving methadone or buprenorphine in Philadelphia.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Article
- Pain, Substance Use Disorders, Mental Health, and Buprenorphine Treatment among Patients With and Without HIV.AIDS and behavior · 2024Article
- Adaptation of the Tele-Harm Reduction intervention to promote initiation and retention in buprenorphine treatment among people who inject drugs: a retrospective cohort study.Annals of medicine · 2023Article
- Racial/ethnic disparities in timely receipt of buprenorphine among Medicare disability beneficiaries.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2023Article
- Weight change among patients engaged in medication treatment for opioid use disorder: a scoping review.The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse · 2023Article
- Implementing Programs to Initiate Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment in High-Need, Low-Resource Emergency Departments: A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial.Annals of emergency medicine · 2023Article
- Trajectories of drug treatment and illicit opioid use in the AIDS Linked to the IntraVenous Experience cohort, 2014-2019.The International journal on drug policy · 2023Article
- Buprenorphine use and courses of care for opioid use disorder treatment within the Veterans Health Administration.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2023Article
- Differences Between VHA-Delivered and VHA-Purchased Behavioral Health Care in Service and Patient Characteristics.Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) · 2023Article
- "We want everything in a one-stop shop": acceptability and feasibility of PrEP and buprenorphine implementation with mobile syringe services for Black people who inject drugs.Harm reduction journal · 2022Article
- Use of and Retention on Video, Telephone, and In-Person Buprenorphine Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic.JAMA network open · 2022Article
- Individual, interpersonal, and neighborhood measures associated with opioid use stigma: Evidence from a nationally representative survey.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2022Article
- Differences in the delivery of medications for opioid use disorder during hospitalization by racial categories: A retrospective cohort analysis.Substance abuse · 2022Article
- Impact of treatment duration on mortality among Veterans with opioid use disorder in the United States Veterans Health Administration.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2021Article
- Prevalence and Medication Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder Among Primary Care Patients with Hepatitis C and HIV.Journal of general internal medicine · 2021Observational
- Research priorities for expanding access to methadone treatment for opioid use disorder in the United States: A National Institute on Drug Abuse Center for Clinical Trials Network Task Force report.Substance abuse · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe advent of buprenorphine as an alternative to methadone has dramatically shifted the landscape of opioid agonist therapy (OAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD). However, there is limited US national level data describing thedifferences between patients who are prescribed these two OAT options.
methodsFrom veterans with OUD diagnosis who used Veterans Health Administration services in 2012, we identified 3 mutually exclusive groups: those who received (1) buprenorphine only (n=5,670); (2) methadone only (n=6,252); or (3) both buprenorphine and methadone in the same year (n=2513). We calculated the bi-varate effect size differences (risk ratios and Cohen's d) forcharacteristics that differentiated these groups. Logistic regression analysis was then used to identify factors independently differentiating the groups.
resultsTen year increment in age (OR 0.67; 95% CI 0.64-0.70), urban residence (OR 0.26; 95% CI 0.25-0.33), and black race (OR 0.39; 95% CI 0.35-0.43) were strongly and negatively associated with odds of receiving buprenorphine compared to methadone, while medical and psychiatric comorbidities or receipt of other psychiatric medications did not demonstrate substantial differences between groups.
conclusionsDifferences between veterans receiving buprenorphine or methadone based OAT seems to be largely shaped by demographic characteristics rather than medical or psychiatric or service use characteristics. A clearer understanding of the reasons for racial differences could be helpful in assuring that black OUD patients are not denied the opportunity to receive buprenorphine if that is their preference.
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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.