Evaluation of successful rehabilitation treatments for opioid addiction

Abstract

The opioid epidemic in America and worldwide is growing leading to an increase in opioid addiction ultimately ending in overdose and death. The specific aim of this paper is to evaluate the different treatment methods that aid with opioid addiction. The main medicated-assisted treatments (MATs) that will be discussed are buprenorphine and methadone. In addition to these two MATs, behavioral therapy treatment will also be of focus as it is often paired with a MAT to obtain the best treatment outcome. This paper will evaluate multiple factors that define successful opioid addiction treatment and treatment outcomes. These factors may include patient characteristics, relapse time if applicable, and length of sobriety after treatment completion also with other aspects.

Page 41 "...According to this review the most successful treatment option for opioid rehabilitation would be a behavioral therapy treatment combined with MAT using methadone. Undesired side effects may be present, but ultimately the success of methadone treatment in direct comparison to buprenorphine makes this the ultimate choice when striving for the best rehabilitation treatment outcome."