Linkage to Primary Care for Persons First Receiving Injectable Naltrexone During Inpatient Opioid Detoxification

Opioid use disorders commonly require ongoing medication-assisted treatment to reduce relapse following discharge from inpatient detoxification programs. Naltrexone, an opioid antagonist, is an increasingly popular treatment option in its once-monthly injectable form (XR-NTX). The aim of this study was to examine the follow-up rates of persons who received an initial injection during inpatient detoxification and scheduled for receipt of a first outpatient injection in the primary care setting.

We reviewed the electronic health records of 62 consecutive opioid dependent adults who received an initial injection of XR-NTX during extended inpatient detoxification at Stanley Street Treatment and Resources (SSTAR) in Fall River, Massachusetts, from March 2013 to August 2015, and were referred to the adjacent SSTAR primary care health center for their second injection 1 month later. Demographic information, drug use and opioid treatment history, and aftercare planning were assessed.

Participants averaged 32.4 (±7.8) years of age, 90.3% were non-Latino Caucasian, 35.5% were homeless, 21.3% reported a drug overdose in the last year, and 53.2% had been in detoxification within the last year. Of the 62 participants referred to primary care, 34 (54.8%) followed up to receive their second XR-NTX injection. Twenty of these persons received at least a third XR-NTX injection. No demographic, treatment history, substance use behaviors, or aftercare plan variables were associated with receipt of a second injection (p<.20).

Predicting, and therefore improving, XR-NTX continuation during the transition from inpatient detoxification to primary care may be difficult in this population.