Mr. L, age 31, presents to the emergency department (ED) with somnolence after sustaining an arm laceration at work. While in the ED, Mr. L explains he has opioid use disorder (OUD) and last week received an initial 300 mg injection of extended-release buprenorphine (BUP-XR). Due to ongoing opioid cravings, he took nonprescribed fentanyl and alprazolam before work.
The ED clinicians address Mr. L’s arm injury and transfer him to the hospital’s low-threshold outpatient addiction clinic for further assessment and management. There, he is prescribed sublingual buprenorphine/naloxone (SL-BUP) 8 mg/2 mg daily as needed for 1 week to address ongoing opioid cravings, and is encouraged to return for another visit the following week.
The United States continues to struggle with the overdose crisis, largely fueled by illicitly manufactured opioids such as fentanyl.1 Opioid agonist and partial agonist treatments such as methadone and buprenorphine decrease the risk of death in individuals with OUD by up to 50%.2 While methadone has a history of proven effectiveness for OUD, accessibility is fraught with barriers (eg, patients must attend an opioid treatment program daily to receive a dose, pharmacies are unable to dispense methadone for OUD).
Buprenorphine has been shown to decrease opioid cravings while limiting euphoria due to its partial—as opposed to full—agonist activity.3 Several buprenorphine formulations are available (Table). Buprenorphine presents an opportunity to treat OUD like other chronic illnesses. In accordance with the US Department of Health and Human Services Practice Guideline (2021), any clinician can obtain a waiver to prescribe buprenorphine in any treatment setting, and patients can receive the medication at a pharmacy.4
However, many patients have barriers to consistent daily dosing of buprenorphine due to strict clinic/prescriber requirements, transportation difficulties, continued cravings, and other factors. BUP-XR, a buprenorphine injection administered once a month, may address several of these concerns, most notably the potential for better suppression of cravings by delivering a consistent level of buprenorphine over the course of 28 days.5 Since BUP-XR was FDA-approved in 2017, questions remain whether it can adequately quell opioid cravings in early treatment months prior to steady-state concentration.
This article addresses whether clinicians should consider supplemental SL-BUP in addition to BUP-XR during early treatment months and/or prior to steady-state.
Pharmacokinetics of BUP-XR
BUP-XR is administered by subcutaneous injection via an ATRIGEL delivery system (BUP-XR; Albany Molecular Research, Burlington, Massachusetts).6 Upon injection, approximately 7% of the buprenorphine dose dissipates with the solvent, leading to maximum concentration approximately 24 hours post-dose. The remaining dose hardens to create a depot that elutes buprenorphine gradually over 28 days.7
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