Naltrexone Implants as an Aid in Preventing Relapse Following Inpatient Treatment for Opioid Addiction
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2008-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
The purpose of this clinical trial is to study the efficacy and safety of naltrexone implants
as relapse prevention for patients that are completing treatment for opiate addiction in
inpatient (or similarly controlled) settings. Participants volunteer for the study before
being released from inpatient treatment, and are randomized to a naltrexone implant group or
a waiting-list control for the duration of the first six months following completion of
inpatient treatment. Both groups are free to receive treatment as usual (TAU) from the
Norwegian healthcare system. After six months, both groups will be offered to have naltrexone
implanted for the remaining six months of the study.
The hypotheses are that quality of life, depression, opioid use, will be significantly better
in the naltrexone group compared to the non at 6-month follow-up. For the last six months of
the trial, the investigators hypothesise that choice of naltrexone implant will mainly
strengthen positive tendencies or reverse negative trends on the aforementioned variables.
The investigators also hypothesize that the implants can prevent death from opioid overdose
up to 6 months after commenced treatment.