New research indicates that just 25% of U.S. adolescent addiction treatment centers provide buprenorphine, the only approved medication for dealing with opioid addiction in 16-18 year olds. The study, explaining a plain gap in evidence-based dependency treatment gain access to amongst youths, calls for improved education, financing, and public awareness.
NIH-funded study indicates a considerable need to broaden access to evidence-based treatment amongst youths.
Just 1 in 4 property dependency treatment centers caring for U.S. teenagers under 18 years old deal buprenorphine, a medication utilized to treat opioid usage disorder, according to a new study. Just 1 in 8 deal buprenorphine for continuous treatment.
There has actually been a significant increase in overdose deaths among young individuals aged 14-18 in recent years, likely driven by illegal counterfeit pills containing fentanyl. For those with opioid use condition, medications are the most effective treatment alternatives for avoiding both return to opioid usage and overdose deaths. Buprenorphine is the only medication for opioid use disorder that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in people aged 16-18. Buprenorphine is not authorized for use amongst individuals under the age of 16 in the U.S., some expert medical societies advise that buprenorphine be considered as a treatment option for opioid usage condition in more youthful people.
Just 1 in 4 domestic addiction treatment centers caring for U.S. teenagers under 18 years old offer buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use condition, according to a brand-new study. Buprenorphine is not authorized for use amongst individuals under the age of 16 in the U.S., some professional medical societies recommend that buprenorphine be thought about as a treatment option for opioid use condition in younger people.
To resolve this space, scientists at OHSU looked for to determine how numerous adolescent treatment centers in the U.S. were offering buprenorphine to treat opioid usage condition.
Of the 160 property dependency treatment facilities found to supply treatment to young patients, the researchers found that 39 facilities (24%) said that they offered buprenorphine to patients aged 16 or older, including through collaboration with outside prescribing clinicians, though specific specifications for providing buprenorphine differed by website. Just 20 centers (12.5%) stated that they used buprenorphine for continuous treatment.
” It is tragic to see that youths with opioid usage condition are not able to gain access to buprenorphine in the majority of treatment centers, despite this medication being the requirement of take care of individuals aged 16 and older” stated Nora Volkow, M.D., director of NIDA. “Residential treatment centers supply a chance to reach youths with a variety of evidence-based assistances at an essential time in their lives, and it is vital that buprenorphine is provided as one of those options.”
Residential treatment facilities are part of the continuum of take care of teenagers with opioid use disorder. However, little is understood about particular evidence-based treatment options provided to young individuals at these facilities, consisting of medications for opioid usage disorder. To address this space, researchers at OHSU sought to determine how lots of adolescent treatment centers in the U.S. were using buprenorphine to deal with opioid usage disorder.
Utilizing the FindTreatment.gov database, which is kept by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the scientists identified a list of 354 centers throughout the U.S. that provided treatment for “compound use,” in a “residential/24-hour domestic” service setting, and for “children/adolescents” (defined as individuals aged 17 and younger) to include in the analysis.
Scientist called these facilities to ask about treatment and services provided as possible users of these services for a 16-year-old with a current non-fatal fentanyl overdose. In Between October and December 2022, the research study team called the facilities in a random order and confirmed that 160 (45%) of these centers offered domestic treatment to patients under the age of 18.
Of the 160 domestic dependency treatment centers found to provide treatment to young patients, the scientists discovered that 39 centers (24%) stated that they used buprenorphine to patients aged 16 or older, including through collaboration with outdoors recommending clinicians, though particular criteria for using buprenorphine varied by website. Only 20 centers (12.5%) stated that they used buprenorphine for ongoing treatment. 12 centers (7.5%) said that they offered buprenorphine to adolescents under 16 years of age.
Amongst the other 121 facilities that did not use buprenorphine to adolescents or werent sure, 57 (47%) indicated that teenagers prescribed buprenorphine by their own clinician might stay on it at least briefly, although some stated they would terminate it before discharge. And 27 (22%) needed that adolescents were not taking buprenorphine in order to be admitted for property treatment.
Based upon these findings, the average individual would require to call 9 facilities on the SAMHSA list to find one that used buprenorphine. To discover one for a teen under 16, they would need to call 29 facilities.
” These residential treatment centers see a few of the most vulnerable teenagers in our communities,” said lead author Caroline King, M.D., Ph.D., who completed this research as a trainee in the OHSU School of Medicine. “We need to support these centers to make evidence-based care the standard.”
” Buprenorphine is the one medication thats authorized for use in adolescents, and its underused in facilities taking care of kids with the most serious opioid use disorder,” stated co-author Todd Korthuis, M.D., M.P.H., head of dependency medication at OHSU. “Its a huge problem, but its something that we can change by supporting these treatment centers with education and technical assistance about buprenorphine, better financing to personnel these centers, and by letting the general public understand that buprenorphine is needed treatment in healing brains.”
For more on this study, see Teens Rarely Receive Proven Lifesaving Addiction Medication in U.S. Treatment Centers.
Referral: “Treatments Used Among Adolescent Residential Addiction Treatment Facilities in the US, 2022” by Caroline King, PhD, MPH; Tamara Beetham, MPH; Natashia Smith, MD; Honora Englander, MD; Scott E. Hadland, MD, MPH, MS; Sarah M. Bagley, MD, MSc and P. Todd Korthuis, MD, MPH, 13 June 2023, JAMA.DOI: 10.1001/ jama.2023.6266.
To find out more on substance and psychological health treatment programs in your area, call the totally free and private National Helpline 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or check out www.FindTreatment.gov.