Patterns of use and adverse events reported among persons who regularly inject buprenorphine: a systematic review

Lit review
by
Bozinoff, Nikki et al

Release Date

2022

Geography

Canada

Language of Resource

English

Full Text Available

Yes

Open Access / OK to Reproduce

Yes

Peer Reviewed

Yes

Objective

Intravenous buprenorphine for the treatment of OUD (BUP iOAT) has several possible advantages over traditional iOAT, including a safety profile that might enable take-home dosing. We aimed to characterize injecting practices among real-world populations of persons who regularly inject buprenorphine, as well as associated adverse events reported in order to inform a possible future BUP iOAT intervention.

Findings/Key points

Regular injection of buprenorphine was identified across diverse settings world-wide. Daily dose of oral buprenorphine injected was < 1–12 mg. Frequency of injection was 0–10 times daily. Adverse events could be characterized as known side effects of opioids/buprenorphine or injection-related complications. Most studies were deemed to be of low quality.

Design/methods

Lit review (88 studies included)

Keywords

Injecting drugs
Substitution/OAT