Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41759785›Full record

ArticleJournal of substance use and addiction treatment2026

The use of cellphone based automated pupillometry to quantify opioid withdrawal in patients receiving treatment for opioid use disorder.

Christopher J Evonko, Kayla C Vigilante, Nathan B Leli, Richard S Pond, Matthew W Chaney, Jake D Ludington, Eric G Van Leuven, Wendy D Washington, David A MacQueen

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In one paragraph

Article in Journal of substance use and addiction treatment, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Christopher J EvonkoDepartment of Psychology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College Rd., Wilmington, NC, 28403, United States of America.
Kayla C VigilanteDepartment of Psychology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College Rd., Wilmington, NC, 28403, United States of America.
Nathan B LeliDepartment of Psychology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College Rd., Wilmington, NC, 28403, United States of America.
Richard S PondDepartment of Psychology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College Rd., Wilmington, NC, 28403, United States of America.
Matthew W ChaneyDepartment of Psychology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College Rd., Wilmington, NC, 28403, United States of America.
Jake D LudingtonDepartment of Psychology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College Rd., Wilmington, NC, 28403, United States of America.
Eric G Van LeuvenDepartment of Psychology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College Rd., Wilmington, NC, 28403, United States of America.
Wendy D WashingtonDepartment of Psychology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College Rd., Wilmington, NC, 28403, United States of America.
David A MacQueenDepartment of Psychology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 S. College Rd., Wilmington, NC, 28403, United States of America. Electronic address: macqueend@uncw.edu.

Funding

Development of the Strength Band Platform, a Technology Assisted Therapy Platform to Aid with Opioid Abuse Treatment.R43DA050399 · NIDA · OPIAID, INC. · PI BOBEK, MARY BETH, REESER, DAVID · 2020 to 2021
$332k
NIDA NIH HHS R43 DA050399
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionOverdose deaths attributed to opioid misuse resulted in over 50,000 deaths in 2024. Opioid agonist therapies such as methadone and buprenorphine are effective for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD). Yet, patient retention is an issue due to the challenges of stabilizing patients on an appropriate dose during the initial phase of treatment (induction). Accurate and objective quantification of opioid withdrawal can better optimize dose titration during induction. The study goal was to validate the use of cellphone-based pupillometry for assessing withdrawal in OUD.

methodsForty-five patients, currently engaged in methadone or buprenorphine treatment for OUD, were recruited from a local clinic. Participants were interviewed daily for fourteen consecutive days and reported on their drug use, their perceived craving and withdrawal (via the clinical opioid withdrawal scale (COWS) and completed an automated pupillary light reflex examination prior to receiving their daily dose. Pupillometry measures and self-reported craving and withdrawal measures were compared against time since last opioid dose (TSLD) to evaluate the sensitivity of measures to withdrawal. A multilevel modeling approach was conducted to account for the nested data.

resultsThe pupillary light reflex was significantly associated with TSLD in those receiving methadone, and amongst those receiving high morphine equivalent doses. Opioid withdrawal as measured by the Clinical Opioid Withdrawal Scale (COWS) failed to demonstrate a significant relationship with TSLD.

conclusionsThese findings suggest that pupillometry measures may be superior to commonly used self-report measures for assessing withdrawal in the context of MOUD for OUD.

Indexed as

Cell PhoneOpioid-Related DisordersReflex, PupillarySubstance Withdrawal SyndromeAdultAnalgesics, OpioidBuprenorphineCravingFemaleHumansMaleMethadoneMiddle AgedOpiate Substitution TreatmentAnalgesics, OpioidBuprenorphineMethadoneBuprenorphineMethadoneOpioidPupillometryWithdrawal

Identifiers

PMID41759785
PMCPMC13284818

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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.