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Published on: August 8, 2019
Nighttime Sleep Symptoms and Sleep-Relevant Medication Documentation Among Adults Receiving Buprenorphine for Opioid
Austin M Jones1, Michelle Eglovitch2, Pablo Soto2
1Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
Background:
Sleep-related symptoms are common among people receiving medications for opioid use disorder (OUD), including buprenorphine. In outpatient addiction treatment, nighttime sleep complaints are often evaluated alongside active medication lists and recent substance exposures. This short report described patient-reported nighttime sleep symptoms and sleep-relevant medication class documentation among adults receiving buprenorphine for OUD.
Methods:
This cross-sectional study used survey data and medical-record abstraction from adults receiving buprenorphine for OUD at an academic addiction clinic from February 2022 to September 2023. Nighttime sleep symptoms were characterized using Insomnia Severity Index items 1-3: difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, and waking too early. Participants were categorized as No-Sx, Single-Sx, or Multi-Sx. Sleep-relevant medications documented on the active outpatient medication list were grouped into eight classes. Sample characteristics, nighttime symptom groups, medication class documentation, and urine drug testing results within 30 days were summarized descriptively.
Results:
Among study participants (n = 136), 72.1% endorsed at least one nighttime sleep symptom. Symptom group distribution was No-Sx (27.9%), Single-Sx (11.0%), and Multi-Sx (61.0%). In the Multi-Sx group, gabapentinoids were most frequently documented (34.9%), followed by sedating antidepressants (26.5%), sedating antihistamines (22.9%), and adrenergic agents (22.9%). Cannabinoids were detected in 46.2% of participants with available urine drug testing results.
Conclusion:
Nighttime sleep symptoms and sleep-relevant medication documentation were common in this outpatient buprenorphine-treated OUD sample. Findings support routine nighttime sleep symptom assessment, together with medication review and consideration of recent substance exposure, to help identify clinically relevant sleep concerns and inform safer outpatient buprenorphine care.
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