Systematic Review: Treatment for Addictive Disorder in Transplant Patients

The number of patients with substance use disorders in need for organ transplantation is expected to increase. Patients with addictive disorders are considered a higher risk of negative outcomes after organ transplantation due to the impact of substance use upon medical status and adherence with treatment. The goal of this systematic review was to assess the current literature on treatment for addiction transplant candidates and recipients.

We conducted a literature search within four databases PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO for publications dated 1/1/1988 to 12/31/2018.

Out of 3108 articles identified through database screening, 39 were included in the qualitative synthesis. Sixteen studies described addiction treatment in groups over five patients. All the articles included liver transplant patients, with only two studies including patients who needed a kidney or a heart transplant. Nine articles described treatment of alcohol use disorder exclusively, five focused on treatment of opioid use disorders. Although 9 of 16 studies were prospective, the variability of the treatment intervention, outcome measures, and control group when applicable prohibited a meaningful meta-analysis of the results. Eight articles that described the case reports are analyzed separately.

Promising treatment options for alcohol use disorder have been reported but more studies are needed to confirm their effectiveness and their feasibility. Methadone appears effective for opioid disorder in transplant patients.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first systematic review on the treatment of addictive disorders in transplant patients. (Am J Addict 2020;29:445-462).