Survey of Treatment Preferences for Opioid Use Disorder

This study gathered preliminary information on the initial feasibility of using injection Naltrexone (NTX) therapy in opioid users.

One hundred opioid users (36% female, 8% minorities, mean age 34.5±11.4 yrs.) undergoing a health screen to determine initial eligibility for an ongoing study completed the survey.

Of the 100 respondents, 26, 16, 16, 1 and 0 reported prior treatment episodes of opioid detoxification, buprenorphine (BUP), methadone (MTD), oral NTX and injection NTX, respectively. Ninety and 71% were interested in participating in a study involving oral and/or injection NTX treatment, respectively. Reasons for not wanting to try injection NTX included fear of needles (n=13), side effects (n=7), lack of pain relief (n=12) and cost (n=3). A significantly higher percentage of those interested in injection NTX had episodes of prior opioid agonist maintenance treatment relative to those uninterested (32.4% vs 10.3%; Chi²=5.2, p<0.03). Those preferring injection NTX therapy showed a higher level of interest in this therapy (3.08±1.01 vs 1.62±1.35; Rank Sum p<0.0001) and a lower degree of interest in BUP treatment (2.96±0.93 vs 3.38±0.90; Rank Sum p< 0.03) than those not preferring injection NTX.

These preliminary results suggest that those with prior, failed experience with opioid agonist maintenance treatment are more likely to consider injection NTX therapy, suggesting it may be optimal as a second-line treatment for OUD.