Naloxone prescriptions from US retail pharmacies increased substantially from 2012 to 2018
Did naloxone access improve? Pharmacy prescriptions more than doubled in one year
An observational report of naloxone dispensing trends in US retail pharmacies found the number of prescriptions increased substantially from…
Naloxone prescriptions at U.S. retail pharmacies more than doubled from 2017 to 2018, showing a major jump in access to this life-saving ove…
Report estimates state-level economic costs of opioid use disorder and fatal overdose
Report estimates state-level economic costs of opioid use disorder and overdose
A report estimated state-level economic costs of opioid use disorder and fatal opioid overdose in the United States.
A new report estimates the economic costs of opioid use disorder and fatal overdoses for every state in the United States in 2017.
Report describes overdose education and naloxone distribution programs in U.S. syringe service programs
How do syringe programs teach people to stop overdoses?
A report describes overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEND) programs within syringe service programs in the United States.
A new report looks at how syringe service programs across the U.S.
Analysis examines synthetic opioid and stimulant co-involved overdose deaths by occupations and industries
Analysis looks at overdose deaths involving both opioids and stimulants across different jobs
An observational report analyzed synthetic opioid and stimulant co-involved overdose deaths across occupations and industries in the United …
A new analysis examines how different jobs and industries might connect to overdose deaths involving both synthetic opioids and stimulants.
Pennsylvania report examines controlled substance prescribing patterns before fatal overdoses
What prescriptions did people have before dying from an overdose in Pennsylvania?
An observational report from Pennsylvania analyzed controlled substance prescribing patterns preceding fatal overdoses involving opioids, st…
A new Pennsylvania report maps the controlled substance prescriptions people received before dying from an overdose involving opioids or sti…
Nitazene-related deaths reported in Tennessee field notes
Health officials report nitazene-related overdose deaths in Tennessee
Field notes from Tennessee report nitazene-related deaths. The study type, population, and specific results were not reported. Clinicians sh…
Tennessee health officials warn that nitazenes, powerful synthetic opioids sometimes mixed with other drugs, are linked to recent overdose d…
Case series identifies 38 medetomidine-involved opioid overdoses in Chicago
Chicago health officials identify overdoses involving veterinary sedative mixed with opioids
A case series in Chicago identified 38 individuals with medetomidine-involved opioid overdoses (12 confirmed, 26 probable).
Chicago officials warn that a veterinary sedative is now mixed with opioids in street drugs, causing 38 overdoses in the city.
Lifetime opioid overdose reported by 55% of pregnant individuals with OUD in buprenorphine treatment study
What puts pregnant women with opioid addiction at highest risk for overdose?
A descriptive analysis of baseline data from a multisite RCT of 140 pregnant individuals with OUD receiving buprenorphine found 55% reported…
Pregnant women in opioid treatment face high overdose risk if they have used heroin, experienced trauma, or rely on others for money.
Research across Opioid Use Disorder
Related studies from across the Opioid Use Disorder family.
Methadone shows significantly higher treatment retention than buprenorphine-naloxone in patients with Opioid Use Disorder
Methadone beats buprenorphine for opioid treatment retention
This meta-analysis of 7 randomized controlled trials involving 3622 patients found that methadone is associated with significantly higher tr…
Methadone keeps more people in opioid treatment than buprenorphine-naloxone, but the combo drug has fewer serious side effects.
Opioid Wizard tool increases primary care clinician confidence in screening, diagnosing, and referring patients for OUD
Digital Tool Improves Clinician Confidence in Managing Opioid Use Disorder
This secondary analysis of an RCT evaluates the Opioid Wizard clinical decision support tool's impact on primary care clinicians managing op…
A new digital decision support tool helps primary care doctors feel more confident when screening and diagnosing patients with opioid use di…
19 genome-wide significant loci identify genetic architecture and high correlations with other substance use disorders
Genes linked to stimulant addiction found in largest study yet
This meta-analysis of 709,369 individuals identifies 19 genome-wide significant loci associated with Stimulant Use Disorder. The study also …
Scientists found 19 genetic regions tied to stimulant addiction, including one linked to obesity. The study of over 700,000 people also show…
High-dose buprenorphine induction protocol for Opioid Use Disorder in emergency department settings
New plan to test high-dose buprenorphine for opioid use disorder
This randomized clinical trial protocol describes a plan to evaluate high-dose buprenorphine induction for patients with moderate-to-severe …
A new clinical trial plans to see if higher doses of buprenorphine can help more people with opioid use disorder start treatment in the emer…
Intranasal naloxone reverses opioid-induced respiratory depression in opioid-naive and daily users within 2 to 17 minutes
Narcan nasal spray reverses opioid breathing depression quickly
This prospective crossover trial enrolled 12 opioid-naive individuals and 18 daily opioid users.
Narcan nasal spray restored breathing within minutes in opioid users, but some had delayed or incomplete recovery.
Nicotinic partial agonists show no effect on opioid use in HIV-positive smokers
New data on nicotine treatment for HIV patients who use opioids
This secondary analysis of a randomized trial in 97 HIV-positive smokers with risky alcohol use and baseline opioid use found no significant…
A new look at nicotine treatment for HIV patients who use opioids found no difference in opioid use between two drug groups.
Protocol for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Dopaminergic Measures in Opioid Use Disorder
Opioid addiction changes brain chemistry in lasting ways
This publication outlines a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating dopaminergic measures in adults with opioid use…
People with opioid addiction have clear changes in brain chemistry that may explain why cravings persist, even after stopping use, and could…
Meta-analysis shows methadone exposure linked to higher NAS incidence and treatment needs versus buprenorphine in pregnant women
Buprenorphine-based therapies reduce neonatal abstinence syndrome risk compared to methadone in pregnant women
This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated buprenorphine-based therapies and methadone in pregnant opioid-dependent women.
A large review of 5,524 pregnant women found babies exposed to buprenorphine had lower rates of withdrawal symptoms and needed less medicati…
Combination buprenorphine and psychotherapy linked to highest remission rates in opioid dependence patients
Combining buprenorphine and therapy boosts remission rates for opioid dependence
This retrospective cohort study analyzed 18,047 adults aged 18–45 with opioid dependence across 112 U.S.
In a large study, pairing buprenorphine with psychotherapy showed the strongest link to remission from opioid use disorder compared to no tr…
Peer navigators provide direct, informational, and facilitation support for OUD during community re-entry
What kind of help do people need most when leaving jail with opioid addiction?
A Connecticut RCT sub-study of 108 criminal legal-involved adults with OUD characterized peer navigator support during community re-entry.
When leaving jail, opioid recovery hinges on practical help like rides to appointments and paperwork support, not just medical advice.
Pilot study examines salivary adiponectin receptor expression in opioid-exposed neonates
How does a mother's opioid use affect her baby's growth signals?
This observational pilot cohort compared salivary adiponectin receptor 1 expression and growth measurements in neonates born at ≥34 weeks' g…
Doctors are investigating how a mother's opioid use during pregnancy might change a newborn's growth signals and body fat levels.
In adult ED encounters, clinician engagement with EHR-based SDOH data was rare but higher in opioid use disorder cases
Did reviewing social data in the ER actually change how doctors treated opioid use disorder patients?
This cross-sectional study of 17,103 adult emergency department encounters examined clinician engagement with electronic health record-based…
Doctors reviewed social data more often for opioid use disorder patients, yet this action did not increase medication treatments or fix raci…