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Naloxone‐precipitated withdrawal: A method for rapid induction onto naltrexone
Author(s) -
Resnick Richard B.,
Kestenbaum Richard S.,
Washton Arnold,
Poole Doris
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.941
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1532-6535
pISSN - 0009-9236
DOI - 10.1002/cpt1977214409
Subject(s) - naltrexone , (+) naloxone , abstinence , opiate , narcotic antagonist , methadone , anesthesia , medicine , detoxification (alternative medicine) , pharmacology , antagonist , psychiatry , receptor , alternative medicine , pathology
We examined naloxone‐precipitated withdrawal as a meansfor rapid opiate detoxification and induction onto naltrexone, In 29 patients dependent on methadone (5 to 20 mg/day), abstinence was precipitated by an injection qf naloxone. Repeated injections of naloxone were given subsequently until symptoms of abstinence were no longer induced. Successive injections induced less intense withdrawal assessed by vital signs and ratings on abstinence scales. The most rapid procedure consisted of 1.2 mg naloxone every 30 min for 3 to 6 hr, followed by hourly increasing doses of naltrexone. This procedure allowed transition from opiate dependence to naltrexone maintenance (50 to 100 mg/day) within 48 hr. The results are consistent with assumptions that antagonists actively displace opiates from receptor sites.