Hostname: page-component-66644f4456-srn29 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-12T22:33:50.384Z Has data issue: true hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Opioid Withdrawal and Naltrexone Induction in 48–72 Hours with Minimal Drop-out, Using a Modification of the Naltrexone-Clonidine Technique

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Colin Brewer ,
Hussein Rezae  and
Clayton Bailey
Colin Brewer*
Affiliation:
Substance Abuse Treatment Programme
Hussein Rezae
Affiliation:
The Stapleford Unit, London Road, Stapleford Tawney, Essex RM4 1SR
Clayton Bailey
Affiliation:
The Stapleford Unit, London Road, Stapleford Tawney, Essex RM4 1SR
*
∗Correspondence
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Using clonidine, naltrexone, and diazepam, 60 withdrawals from heroin and other opioids involving 56 addicts were carried out with only one patient dropping out. In the last 23 cases, we used a modification of the standard technique, giving significantly higher doses of naltrexone and clonidine on the first day. This significantly reduced the average withdrawal time from 3.30 days to 2.32 days, despite lower clonidine dosage and significantly lower diazepam dosage on the second day. The speed, effectiveness, economy, and high acceptability of this withdrawal technique have implications for both private and state-funded treatment programmes.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 153 , Issue 3 , September 1988 , pp. 340 - 343
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1988 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Brewer, C. (1987) Blood pressure monitoring at home for rapid opiate withdrawal with clonidine and naltrexone. The Lancet i, 621.Google Scholar
Charney, D. S., Heninger, G. R. & Kleber, H. D. (1986) The combined use of clonidine and naltrexone as a rapid safe and effective treatment of abrupt withdrawal from methadone. American Journal of Psychiatry, 143, 831–837.Google Scholar
Charney, D. S., Riordan, C. E., Kleber, H. D., Murburg, M., Braverman, P., Sternberg, D. E., Heninger, G. R. & Redmond, E. (1982) Clonidine and naltrexone: a safe, effective and rapid treatment of abrupt withdrawal from methadone. Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, 1327–1332.Google Scholar
Gold, M. S., Redmond, D. E. & Kleber, H. D. (1978) Clonidine blocks acute opiate withdrawal symptoms. The Lancet ii, 599–602.Google Scholar
Gossop, M. Johns, A. & Green, L. (1987) Opiate withdrawal: inpatient versus outpatient programmes and preferred versus random assignment to treatment. British Medical Journal, 293, 103–104.Google Scholar
Kleber, H. D. (1985) Naltrexone. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 2, 117–222.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kleber, H. D. & Kosten, T. R. (1984) Naltrexone induction: psychologic and pharmacologic strategies. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 45, 29–38.Google Scholar
Kleber, H. D. & Riordan, C. E. (1982) The treatment of narcotic withdrawal: a historical review. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 43, 30–34.Google Scholar
Kleber, H. D., Topazian, M., Gaspari, J., Riordan, C. E. & Kosten, T. (1987) Clonidine and naltrexone in the outpatient treatment of heroin withdrawal. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 13, 1–17.Google Scholar
Sellers, E. M., Naranjo, C. A., Harrison, M., Bevenyi, P., Roach, C. & Sykora, K. (1983) Oral diazepam loading: amplified treatment of alcohol withdrawal. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 34, 822–826.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Zwieten, P. A. (1977) The interaction between clonidine and various neuroleptic agents and some benzodiazepine tranquillisers. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 29, 229–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.