Comparative effectiveness of maintenance doses of opioid agonist treatment among individuals with opioid use disorder: a target trial emulation protocol using a population-based observational study.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Opioid agonist treatment (OAT) prescribing patterns have shifted in recent years in British Columbia (BC), Canada due to the increasingly toxic unregulated drug supply. Experimental evidence to support guidelines on the effectiveness of maintaining clients at different maintenance dosage levels is incomplete and outdated for the fentanyl era. Our objective is to assess the risk of treatment discontinuation and mortality among individuals receiving different maintenance dosage strategies for OAT with methadone, buprenorphine/naloxone or slow-release oral morphine (SROM) at the population level in BC, Canada.

Methods and analysis

We propose a retrospective population-level study of BC residents initiating OAT on methadone, buprenorphine/naloxone or SROM between 1

SUBMITTER: Zanette M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12359485 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature