ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2018
Tapering off and returning to buprenorphine maintenance in a primary care Office Based Addiction Treatment (OBAT) program.
Article in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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
12 citing papers in PubMed.
- Transition of Patients with Opioid Use Disorder from Buprenorphine to Extended-Release Naltrexone: A Randomized Clinical Trial Assessing Two Transition Regimens.The American journal on addictions · 2020Trial
- Discontinuing extended-release buprenorphine: Participant experiences from a mixed-methods observational study.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2026Article
- Social Listening for Patient Experiences With Stopping Extended-Release Buprenorphine: Content Analysis of Reddit Messages.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Tapering and withdrawing opioids: guidance informed by fundamental principles to minimise withdrawal symptoms.Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology · 2025Review
- Article
- Buprenorphine use and courses of care for opioid use disorder treatment within the Veterans Health Administration.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2023Article
- Prescribing Characteristics Associated With Opioid Overdose Following Buprenorphine Taper.JAMA network open · 2022Article
- Provider perceptions of medication for opioid used disorder (MOUD): A qualitative study in communities with high opioid overdose death rates.Substance abuse · 2022Article
- Age-based preferences for risk communication in the fentanyl era: 'A lot of people keep seeing other people die and that's not enough for them'.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2021Article
- A Research Agenda for Advancing Strategies to Improve Opioid Safety: Findings from a VHA State of the Art Conference.Journal of general internal medicine · 2020Article
- Worries About Discontinuing Buprenorphine Treatment: Scale Development and Clinical Correlates.The American journal on addictions · 2019Article
- Barriers to and facilitators of buprenorphine dispensing for opioid use disorder: Evidence from focus groups in Appalachian Kentucky.Journal of the American Pharmacists Association : JAPhAArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundGuidelines recommend long-term treatment for opioid use disorder including the use of buprenorphine; however, many patients desire to eventually taper off. This study examines the prevalence and patient characteristics of patients that voluntarily taper off buprenorphine.
methodsThis is a 12-year retrospective cohort study of adults on buprenorphine in a large urban safety-net primary care practice. The primary outcome was completion of a voluntary buprenorphine taper, which was further characterized as a medically supervised or unsupervised taper. The secondary outcome was re-engagement in care after taper. Descriptive statistics and estimated proportions of both taper completion and re-engagement in treatment were calculated using Kaplan-Meier estimates.
resultsThe study sample included 1308 patients with a median follow-up time of 316 days; 48 patients were observed to taper off buprenorphine during the study period, with an estimated proportion of 15% (95%CI: 10%-21%) based on Kaplan Meier analyses. Less than half of the tapers, 45.8% (22/48), were medically supervised. Thirteen of the 48 patients subsequently, re-engaged in buprenorphine treatment (estimated proportion 61%, 95%CI: 27%-96%), based on Kaplan-Meier analyses with median follow-up time of 490 days. DISCUSSION: Despite the fact that many patients desire to discontinue buprenorphine, a minority had a documented taper. Among those who tapered, more than half did so unsupervised by the clinic and a majority of those who tapered off returned to buprenorphine treatment within two years. As many patients are unable to successfully taper off buprenorphine, the medical community must work to address any barriers to long-term maintenance.
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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.