Continuation of Buprenorphine During Hospitalization and Subsequent Retention in Therapy: an Observational Study in Veterans Administration Hospitals

• Published in: Journal of general internal medicine : JGIM 2024-02, Vol.39 (2), p.207-213
• Main Authors: Mosher, Hilary J., Hadlandsmyth, Katherine, Alexander, Bruce, Lund, Brian C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aftercare; Analgesics, Opioid - therapeutic use; Buprenorphine; Buprenorphine - therapeutic use; Coalescence; Drug abuse; Drug addiction; Hospitalization; Hospitals; Humans; Indication; Internal Medicine; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Observational studies; Opiate Substitution Treatment; Opioid-Related Disorders - drug therapy; Opioid-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Original Research; Patient Discharge; Patients; Retrospective Studies; Therapy; United States - epidemiology; United States Department of Veterans Affairs; Veterans
• ISSN: 0884-8734; 1525-1497
• DOI: 10.1007/s11606-023-08420-z

Background Inpatient hospitalization has the potential to disrupt buprenorphine therapy. Objective Among patients receiving outpatient buprenorphine prior to admission, we determined the rate of discontinuation during medical and surgical admissions to VA hospitals and its association with subsequent post-discharge continuation of buprenorphine therapy. Design and Main Measures We conducted an observational study using Veterans Administration data from 10/1/2018 to 3/31/2020 for all medical and surgical admissions where Veterans had active buprenorphine prescriptions at the time of admission. Pre-admission buprenorphine prescriptions were categorized as either sublingual (presumed indication for opioid use disorder (OUD)) or buccal/topical (presumed indication for pain). The primary measure of post-discharge buprenorphine receipt was any outpatient buprenorphine prescription dispensed between 1 day prior to discharge and 60 days following discharge. Key Results A total of 830 unique inpatient hospitalizations to medical or surgical services occurred among Veterans receiving sublingual (48.3%) or buccal/topical (51.7%) buprenorphine prior to admission. Fewer than half (43.9%) of these patients received buprenorphine at some point during the medical or surgical portion of their hospital stay. Among the 766 patients discharged from a medical or surgical unit, 74.3% received an outpatient buprenorphine prescription within the 60 days following discharge (80.2% sublingual and 69.1% buccal/topical). Among patients who had received buprenorphine during the final 36 h prior to discharge, subsequent outpatient buprenorphine receipt was observed in 94.0%, compared to only 63.7% among those not receiving buprenorphine during the final 36 h ( χ 2  = 83.5, p