About this episode
Contributor: Don Stader, MD Educational Pearls: Buprenorphine has been shown to decrease morbidity and mortality in opioid use disorder Buprenorphine used in naloxone-induced withdrawals can displace naloxone at opioid receptors, leading to reduced withdrawal symptoms and lessen the chance of using after discharge Patients in acute withdrawal due to naloxone after an overdose should be given Buprenorphine. Data shows that withholding Buprenorphine leads to increased mortality rates of 5% within the following month, and 10% in the following year. References Herring, Andrew. "Emergency Department Medication-Assisted Treatment of Opioid Addiction." Chcf.org, Aug. 2016, www.chcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/PDF-EDMATOpioidProtocols.pdf. D.H. Cisewski et al. Approach to buprenorphine use for opioid withdrawal treatment in the emergency setting. American Journal of Emergency Medicine 37 (2019) 143–150 Summarized by Jackson Roos, MS4 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD