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ABSTRACT
Background
Many opioid-dependent people in prison experience unplanned opioid withdrawal upon entry into custody and face high rates of relapse, opioid overdose, & even death following custody release. The aim of the study was to examine and compare the effectiveness of depot buprenorphine and buprenorphine-naloxone sublingual treatments following custody release.
Methods
A retrospective descriptive comparative design, involving a review of electronic medical records (eMR) of 62 adults aged ±18 years who had received either buprenorphine-naloxone sublingual or depot buprenorphine treatment. The sample was identified from the intake register from 2019 to 2020. R statistical software was used for data analysis.
Results
Former inmates treated with depot buprenorphine tended to stay in treatment longer (M ± SD: 122.8 ± 59.8 days) than those treated with buprenorphine-naloxone sublingual (M ± SD: 89.4 ± 66.6 days). Out of 28 former inmates on depot buprenorphine, six (21%) were re-incarcerated, compared to 13 out of 34 on buprenorphine-naloxone sublingual treatment (38%).
Conclusions
Clients who received depot buprenorphine treatment prior to custody release exhibited better community treatment retention and a lower number of re-incarcerations compared to those who received buprenorphine-naloxone sublingual treatment. This study contributes to the limited knowledge base regarding depot buprenorphine and will inform future research.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to Anton du Toit from Western Sydney University for his support to organise the data.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Authors contribution
KM was involved in conceptualizing the study, data collection, interpretation and drafting the manuscript. KF data analysis, interpretation and manuscript drafting. RH, PP and GW contributed advice throughout the study and edits to the manuscript.
Availability of data and materials
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Ethics approval and consent to participate
The study was approved by the Southwestern Sydney Local Health District Drug Health Human Research Ethics Committee (2021/ETH00061). Consent to participate was waived as the study was determined to be low-risk research and data was de-identified on collection.