Somaini Lorenzo, Vecchio Sarah, Corte Camilla, Coppola Carmen, Mahony Aisling, Pitts Alexandra, Cutuli Manuela, Orso Rosetta, Littlewood Richard
Addiction Treatment Centre, Local Health Unit, Azienda Sanitaria Locale di Biella, Biella, ITA.
Research, Applied Strategic, London, GBR.
Cureus. 2021 Oct 5;13(10):e18513. doi: 10.7759/cureus.18513. eCollection 2021 Oct.
Treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) including opioid agonist therapy (OAT) is effective. Medication with the oral administration of methadone and buprenorphine has well-known limitations (establishing consistent optimal dosing levels, misuse, diversion, and accidental exposure). Treatment may require attendance at treatment services for collection and consumption of medication; this is associated with stigma and discrimination. Novel therapeutic options include approved, injectable, prolonged-release buprenorphine (PRB) products providing consistently optimal drug levels and less frequent dosing. This work assesses the lived experience of persons currently engaged in OUD therapy to define the potential value of novel therapeutic options in order to inform treatment decisions. One hundred and twenty-two people engaged with treatment services participated in this assessment. Seventy-two percent of participants believed that novel therapeutic options would improve quality of life and 67% stated it would reduce stigma and discrimination. Participants were neither concerned about the efficacy of (net score negative 30%), or lack of control over (net score negative 36%) treatment, nor about reduced contact with treatment services (net score negative 11%). Results from this assessment indicate that the provision of choice including novel therapeutic options is likely to improve quality of life and reduce the stigma of persons with OUD.
包括阿片类激动剂疗法（OAT）在内的阿片类物质使用障碍（OUD）治疗是有效的。口服美沙酮和丁丙诺啡进行药物治疗存在众所周知的局限性（确定一致的最佳给药剂量水平、滥用、转移和意外暴露）。治疗可能需要前往治疗机构领取和服用药物；这会带来耻辱感和歧视。新型治疗选择包括已获批的长效注射用丁丙诺啡（PRB）产品，其能持续提供最佳药物水平且给药频率较低。这项研究评估了目前正在接受OUD治疗的患者的实际体验，以确定新型治疗选择的潜在价值，从而为治疗决策提供参考。122名接受治疗服务的患者参与了此次评估。72%的参与者认为新型治疗选择会改善生活质量，67%的参与者表示这会减少耻辱感和歧视。参与者既不担心治疗效果（净得分-30%），也不担心对治疗缺乏控制（净得分-36%），也不担心与治疗机构的接触减少（净得分-11%）。此次评估结果表明，提供包括新型治疗选择在内的多种选择可能会改善OUD患者的生活质量并减少其耻辱感。
