Trial reportAddiction science & clinical practice2022
Patients' experiences of continued treatment with extended-release naltrexone: a Norwegian qualitative study.
Trial report in Addiction science & clinical practice, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03647774 (Long Acting Naltrexone for Opioid Addiction), which is not on this map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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.
Long Acting Naltrexone for Opioid Addiction: the Importance of Mental, Physical and Societal Factors for Sustained Abstinence and Recovery
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Factors associated with the percentage of individuals who initiate and discontinue naltrexone as a relapse prevention pharmacotherapy in opioid use disorder: A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Endogenous mu-opioid modulation of social connection in humans: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Translational psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- High induction rate onto extended-release naltrexone for people with opioid use disorder: experiences from a Norwegian naturalistic study.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2025Article
- Opioid Regulation of Social Homeostasis: Connecting Loneliness to Addiction.Biological psychiatry · 2025Review
- Personal recovery among people with opioid use disorder during treatment with extended-release naltrexone.Heliyon · 2023Article
- Lived Experiences of Medication for Opioid Use Disorder: Clients' Perspectives on Formulation and Treatment.Substance use : research and treatmentArticle
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 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe opioid antagonist extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX) in the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) is effective in terms of safety, abstinence from opioid use and retention in treatment. However, it is unclear how patients experience and adjust to losing the possibility of achieving an opioid effect. This qualitative study is the first to explore how people with opioid dependence experience XR-NTX treatment, focusing on the process of treatment over time.
methodsUsing a purposive sampling strategy, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 19 persons with opioid use disorder (15 men, four women, 22-55 years of age) participating in a clinical trial of XR-NTX in Norway. The interviewees had received at least three XR-NTX injections. Qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach was used.
findingsParticipants described that XR-NTX treatment had many advantages. However they still faced multiple challenges, some of which they were not prepared for. Having to find a new foothold and adapt to no longer gaining an effect from opioids due to the antagonist medication was challenging. This was especially true for those struggling emotionally and transitioning into the harmful use of non-opioid substances. Additional support was considered crucial. Even so, the treatment led to an opportunity to participate in society and reclaim identity. Participants had strong goals for the future and described that XR-NTX enabled a more meaningful life. Expectations of a better life could however turn into broken hopes. Although participants were largely optimistic about the future, thinking about the end of treatment could cause apprehension.
conclusionsXR-NTX treatment offers freedom from opioids and can facilitate the recovery process for people with OUD. However, our findings also highlight several challenges associated with XR-NTX treatment, emphasizing the importance of monitoring emotional difficulties and increase of non-opioid substances during treatment. As opioid abstinence in itself does not necessarily equal recovery, our findings underscore the importance of seeing XR-NTX as part of a comprehensive, individualized treatment approach.
trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov # NCT03647774, first Registered: Aug 28, 2018.
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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.