A comparison of mortality rates for buprenorphine versus methadone treatments for opioid use disorder

Original research
by
Gottlieb, Daniel J. et al

Release Date

2022

Geography

USA

Language of Resource

English

Full Text Available

No

Open Access / OK to Reproduce

No

Peer Reviewed

Yes

Objective

Our objective was to compare mortality rates for buprenorphine and methadone treatments among a large sample of US patients with OUD.

Findings/Key points

We found significantly lower all-cause mortality and suicide mortality rates for buprenorphine compared with methadone. Our results support the less restrictive prescribing practices for buprenorphine as OAT in the US.

Design/methods

US Department of Veterans Affairs data from 2010 through 2019.

Keywords

Mortality
Substitution/OAT
Outcomes