ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2021
Characterizing initiation, use, and discontinuation of extended-release buprenorphine in a nationally representative United States commercially insured cohort.
Article in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 57 citations in OpenAlex.
- Patient experience of opioid use disorder treatment medications: a systematic review of contemporary qualitative research.BMJ open · 2024Pooled it
- Comparison of buprenorphine treatment by virtual-only vs. traditional clinicians.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2026Article
- How do services offered within opioid treatment programs vary based on state methadone policies?Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2026Article
- Discontinuation of medications for alcohol use disorder in the United States: Patient, prescriber and medication predictors.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Observational
- Medication transitions and predictors of illicit substance use during opioid agonist treatment: a three-year follow-up study.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2026Observational
- Medicaid Prior Authorization and Discontinuation of Buprenorphine.Journal of addiction medicine · 2026Article
- Tailoring of a chronic pain self-management intervention for individuals with opioid use disorder in office-based addiction treatment.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2026Article
- Improving access to oral health care for patients with opioid use disorder: Dentists' perspectives on barriers and solutions.Journal of the American Dental Association (1939) · 2026Article
- Longitudinal Patterns of Dental Health Care Utilization 18 Months Before and 36 Months After Initiation of Index Medications for Opioid Use Disorder.Journal of addiction medicine · 2026Article
- Initiation, retention, and discontinuation of extended-release buprenorphine (BUP-XR) for opioid dependence: A single-arm multi-site trial in Ukraine.The International journal on drug policy · 2026Article
- Aligning Efforts to Boost Medications for Opioid Use Disorder and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for HIV.Journal of general internal medicine · 2026Article
- Buprenorphine Treatment Duration and Adherence Among Youth and Subsequent Health Outcomes.Pediatrics · 2025Article
- Implementation opportunities for optimizing retention on buprenorphine treatment for people with opioid use disorder in West Virginia.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2025Article
- Treatment patterns and healthcare resource use among veterans initiating medication for incident moderate-to-severe alcohol use disorder.The American journal on addictions · 2025Article
- Availability of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in Opioid Treatment Programs.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Long-acting injectables for the treatment of substance use disorder: a look ahead.Expert opinion on drug delivery · 2025Article
- Barriers to accessing medications for opioid use disorder among rural individuals.The International journal on drug policy · 2025Article
- A Path Forward for Extended-Release Buprenorphine-Optimizing Implementation Strategies.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Retention and dropout from sublingual and extended-release buprenorphine treatment: A comparative analysis of data from a nationally representative sample of commercially-insured people with opioid use disorder in the United States.The International journal on drug policy · 2025Article
- What smartphone apps exist to support recovery from opioid use disorder? A content analysis of publicly available opioid-related smartphone apps.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsWhile the United States is in the midst of an overdose epidemic, effective treatments are underutilized and commonly discontinued. Innovations in medication delivery, including an extended-release formulations, have the potential to improve treatment access and reduce discontinuation. We sought to assess extended-release buprenorphine discontinuation among individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) in a real-world, nationally representative cohort.
settingUnited States
participantsCommercially insured individuals initiating one of four FDA-approved medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in 2018: extended-release buprenorphine, extended-release naltrexone, mucosal buprenorphine (mono- or co-formulated with naloxone), or methadone. MEASUREMENTS: Our primary outcome was medication discontinuation, defined as a gap of more than 14 days between the end of one prescription or administration and the subsequent dose.
findingsWe identified 14,358 individuals initiating MOUD in 2018, including 204 (1%) extended-release buprenorphine, 1,173 (8%) extended-release naltrexone, 12,171 (85%) mucosal buprenorphine, and 810 (6%) methadone initiations. Three months after initiation, 50% (95% confidence interval [CI] 40%-60%) of extended-release buprenorphine, 64% (95% CI 61%-69%) of extended-release naltrexone, 34% (95% CI 33%-35%) of mucosal buprenorphine, and 58% (95% CI 54%-62%) of methadone initiators had discontinued treatment.
conclusionsAcross all treatment groups, medication discontinuation was high, and in this sample of early adopters with limited follow-up time, we found no evidence that extended-release buprenorphine offered a retention advantage compared to other MOUD in real-world settings. Retention continues to represent a major obstacle to treatment effectiveness, and interventions are needed to address this challenge even as new MOUD formulations become available.
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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.