BUPRENORPHINE AS A PHARMACOTHERAPY FOR OPIATE ADDICTION - WHAT DOSE PROVIDES A THERAPEUTIC RESPONSE

The authors used pharmacological response criteria to determine the th e therapeutic dose range of buprenorphine for the treatment of opiate dependence. One hundred consecutively admitted patients with opiate ad diction were followed for 16 weeks while receiving a daily, (double-bl inded) buprenorphine dose between 4 mg and 32 mg. Pharmacological resp onse was operationalized as a composite score reflecting urine toxicol ogy, clinic attendance and withdrawal or toxicity symptomatology. A to tal of 34 subjects met pharmacological response criteria at an average daily dose of 14.6 +/- 6.5 mg; thus the therapeutic dose was somewhat higher than that used in recent efficacy studies.