Predictors of long term opioid withdrawal outcome after short-term stabilization with buprenorphine

We aim to examine predictors of opiate abstinence status 3 months after the end of buprenorphine/naloxone treatment for opioid-dependent participants.

Participants (n= 516, age > 15 years) received buprenorphine/ naloxone treatment for 4 weeks and then randomly assigned to undergo dose tapering over either 7 days or 28 days. Bivariate analysis was performed to identify possible predictors of successful opiate abstinence outome (p-value < 0.10). Logistic regression analysis with backward stepwise selection was, then, performed to produce final model containing independent predictors at p-value < 0.05.

Bivariate analysis identified several possible predictors including: opioid and drug urine tests result at the end taper; employment status, family problems, and alcohol use domains of addiction severity index (ASI) score; and clinical opiate withdrawal scale (COWS) at the end of stabilization. Final predictor list identified by logistic regression include: ASI score for family and alcohol problems, COWS at the end of stabilization and opiate urine test at the end of taper.

Participants presenting with a negative urine test for opiate, more severe alcohol, more severe family problems, or more symptoms of opiate withdrawal at the end of stabilization were more likely to have a successful opiate abstinence.