Treatment outcomes among a cohort of African American buprenorphine patients: Follow-up at 12 months

• Published in: The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse 2018-01, Vol.44 (6), p.604-610
• Main Authors: Monico, Laura B., Gryczynski, Jan, Schwartz, Robert P., Jaffe, Jerome H., O'Grady, Kevin E., Mitchell, Shannon Gwin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: African Americans; Alcohol use; Attrition; Buprenorphine; Clinical outcomes; Clinical research; Clinical trials; Cocaine; Crime; Criminal statistics; Drug abuse; Drug addiction; Heroin; medication-assisted treatment; Naloxone; Narcotics; opioid use disorder; Opioids; Patients; pharmacotherapy; Quality of life; Substance abuse; Substance abuse treatment; Treatment outcomes
• ISSN: 0095-2990; 1097-9891
• DOI: 10.1080/00952990.2018.1461877

Background: Although buprenorphine/naloxone (bup/nal) is well-established as a safe and effective treatment for opioid use disorders (OUDs), there are few studies reporting 12-month outcomes of patients receiving bup/nal in formerly drug-free outpatient programs. Objectives: To examine 12-month outcomes by bup/nal treatment enrollment status among a cohort of African American patients enrolled in a clinical trial. Methods: This analysis builds upon a randomized trial of 300 opioid-dependent African American bup/nal patients in two outpatient programs in Baltimore, MD. A subset of participants (N = 133, n = 47 female) were tracked for a 12-month follow-up interview. Results: The participants receiving bup/nal at 12 months had significantly fewer opioid-positive urine screens (44% v. 73%) and days of self-reported heroin use (M [SE] = 1.13 [.34] v. 7.12 [1.44]) than the out-of-bup/nal-treatment group (both ps ≤ .001). Similarly, those receiving bup/nal reported significantly fewer days of cocaine use (M [SE] = 0.85 [0.23] v. 2.88[0.75]) and alcohol use (M [SE] = 1.44 [0.38] v. 3.69 [1.04]; both ps