Open AccessNewer approaches to opioid detoxification
Author(s) -
Siddharth Sarkar,
Surendra Kumar Mattoo
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
industrial psychiatry journal/industrial psychiatry journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 0976-2795
pISSN - 0972-6748
DOI - 10.4103/0972-6748.119652
Subject(s) - detoxification (alternative medicine) , buprenorphine , methadone , medicine , opioid , clonidine , intensive care medicine , pharmacology , alternative medicine , anesthesia , receptor , pathology
Opioid use disorders present with distressing withdrawal symptoms at the time of detoxification. The pharmacological agents and methods currently in use for detoxification mainly include buprenorphine, methadone, and clonidine. Many other pharmacological agents have been tried for opioid detoxification. This review takes a look at the newer pharmacological options, both opioid agonists and non-agonist medications that have been utilized for detoxification. Peer reviewed articles were identified using PubMed and PsychInfo databases. The keywords included for the search were a combination of 'opioid' and 'detoxification' and their synonyms. All the articles published in the last 10 years were screened for. Relevant data was extracted from identified studies. Many newer pharmacological agents have been tried in detoxification of opioids. However, the quest for a safe, efficacious, cost-effective pharmacological option which requires minimal monitoring still continues. The role of non-pharmacological measures and alternative medicine needs further evaluation.