Medication for opioid use disorder after nonfatal opioid overdose and association with mortality: a cohort study.
Nationally, opioid overdose remains a common cause of preventable death. Treatment of opioid use disorder with opioid replacement therapy, specifically methadone or buprenorphine, is a potent but underutilized strategy for reducing opioid-related harm. Investigators employed a prospective cohort study to follow 17,568 adults who were treated in Massachusetts emergency departments for a nonfatal opioid overdose. About 15% received opioid replacement therapy in the subsequent 2 years. Patients on opioid replacement therapy were substantially less likely to die from opioids or any other cause. An accompanying editorial from leaders at the National Institute on Drug Abuse highlights strategies to increase the number of Americans offered these life-saving therapies. The editorial also notes the alarming number of patients who received prescriptions for short-acting opioids and benzodiazepines after an opioid overdose. A past Annual Perspective and PSNet perspective delineated other strategies for addressing the opioid crisis.
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