SynthesisBMJ open2019
Slow release oral morphine versus methadone for the treatment of opioid use disorder.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 7 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
32 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 58 citations in OpenAlex.
- Approved Medications for Substance Use Disorders: An Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews and Completed Phase 3 Randomized Controlled Trials.CNS drugs · 2026Pooled it
- Guideline
- Management of opioid use disorder: 2024 update to the national clinical practice guideline.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2024Guideline
- Opioid agonist treatment for people who are dependent on pharmaceutical opioids.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Clinical guideline for homeless and vulnerably housed people, and people with lived homelessness experience.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2020Guideline
- Pooled it
- French National Guidelines for the Appropriate Use of Opioids: Analgesia, Opioid Use Disorder, and Overdose Prevention-Part 2: Prevention and Management of Opioid Use Disorder and Overdose.Pain and therapy · 2026Article
- Review
- Estimating the Daily Milligrams of Morphine Equivalent of Illicit Fentanyl Use in Los Angeles: Clinical and Epidemiological Implications.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Slow-Release Oral Morphine vs Methadone for Opioid Use Disorder in the Fentanyl Era.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Adapting opioid therapy: real-world analysis of switching from methadone to slow-release morphine and back amid COVID-19 supply chain disruptions.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2026Article
- Effectiveness of slow-release oral morphine versus other OAT regimens in key sub-populations: protocol for population-based target trial emulation.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- Article
- Article
- Article
- "We need all hands on deck": characterizing addiction medicine training in Canada-a mixed methods study of fellowship program directors.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2025Article
- Navigating new norms: Addiction specialists' perspectives on opioid use disorder treatments and policy challenges in the fentanyl era.The American journal on addictions · 2025Article
- Heroin and its metabolites: relevance to heroin use disorder.Translational psychiatry · 2023Review
- Effect of TRV130 and methadone on fentanyl-vs.-food choice and somatic withdrawal signs in opioid-dependent and post-opioid-dependent rats.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo assess the efficacy of slow release oral morphine (SROM) as a treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD).
designSystematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). DATA SOURCES: Three electronic databases were searched through 1 May 2018: the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE and EMBASE. We also searched the following electronic registers for ongoing trials: ClinicalTrials.gov, WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, Current Controlled Trials and the EU Clinical Trials Register. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES: We included RCTs of all durations, assessing the effect of SROM on measures of treatment retention, heroin use and craving in adults who met the diagnostic criteria for OUD. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed risk of bias. Data were pooled using the random-effects model and expressed as risk ratios (RRs) or mean differences with 95% CIs. Heterogeneity was assessed (χ
resultsAmong 1315 records screened and four studies reviewed, four unique randomised trials met the inclusion criteria (n=471), and compared SROM with methadone. In the meta-analysis, we observed no significant differences between SROM and methadone in improving treatment retention
conclusionsMeta-analysis of existing randomised trials suggests SROM may be generally equal to methadone in retaining patients in treatment and reducing heroin use while potentially resulting in less craving. The methodological quality of the included RCTs was low-to-moderate.
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.