This trial evaluates two standard of care treatments for opioid addiction: methadone and buprenorphine/naloxone. In order to improve patient care, the study will address real-world treatment conditions, including strict regulations for methadone dosing (i.e. initially dispensed daily at the pharmacy until stabilisation) vs. flexible take-home dosing for buprenorphine/naloxone. The OPTIMA study is designed with the intention to support patient-provider decision-making and evaluate health related outcomes with the overall aim of improving treatment outcomes through enhancing patient-centered approaches in clinical care.
This is a multicenter, open-label, 2-arm, randomized trial with a pragmatic design involving 276 individuals with prescription opioid use disorder. Participants will be randomized to receive either: 1. Methadone provided via initial daily witnessed ingestion as per local guidelines. 2. Buprenorphine/naloxone maintenance therapy provided via flexible take-home dose regimens dispensed as per the physician's discretion, once clinical stability is achieved. Once randomized to a study medication and treatment initiation and induction has begun, study physicians and participants will discuss the treatment plans and procedures going forward. Once treatment initiation has taken place, the participant will attend study visits every 2 weeks (including collection of urine samples) for the 24-week intervention period. For all study sites, standardized guidelines exist and will be adhered to for the safe induction of both medications. Frequency of illicit opioid use, intensity of craving and other secondary endpoints will also be assessed via standardized questionnaires.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
272
Methadone is a synthetic analgesic drug used as a substitute drug in the treatment of opioid use disorder. Methadone is administered via strict daily witnessed ingestion.
Buprenorphine/Naloxone is an opioid agonist treatment used to treat opioid use disorder. Buprenorphine/Naloxone is administered via flexible take home dosing once the patient has reached stabilization as per physician discretion.
Calgary Opioid Dependency Program
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Edmonton Opioid Dependency Program
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Rapid Access Addictions Clinic-St. Paul's Hospital
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Ontario Addiction Treatment Centres- Sudbury Clinic
Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Addiction Medicine Service- Centre for Addictions and Mental Health
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Centre de Recherche du CHUM
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Centre de Recherche et d'Aide pour Narcomane
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Opioid Use
Opioid use will be measured by the overall proportion of opioid-free urine drug screens (UDS) during the 24 weeks of the trial (excluding the assigned metabolites of opioid agonist treatments, as appropriate), with missing values defined as positive UDS (binary, laboratory assay).
Time frame: 24 weeks
Retention in treatment
Retention in treatment is defined as the proportion of participants on assigned opioid agonist treatment (OAT) at the end of the study, as defined by having both a) an active prescription for the assigned OAT at week 24, and b) a positive UDS result for the assigned OAT at week 24.
Time frame: 24 weeks
Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT) Medication Adherence
OAT medication adherence is defined as the proportion of assigned treatment doses received over the 24-week trial period assessed by both Pharmacy Abstraction and participant self-report.
Time frame: 24 weeks
Safety will be evaluated by monitoring adverse events (AEs) and serious adverse events (SAEs)
Safety will be evaluated by monitoring adverse events (AEs) and serious adverse events (SAEs) throughout the duration of the trial. Adverse events and SAEs will be collected during study visits by means of open questions (e.g., has there been any changes to your health since the last study visit?). Also, the observation of clinically significant change in lab test results, fatal or non-fatal overdoses, and precipitated withdrawal symptoms from buprenorphine/naloxone inductions will be used to document AEs and SAEs. All AEs and SAEs will be documented using an AE Log in which the date and time of onset, the end date and time (i.e., when the AE was resolved or stabilized), the severity of the event, any action taken with respect to the study medication (e.g., no treatment or dose adjustment), and the relationship with study protocol or study medication will be recorded.
Time frame: 24 weeks
Patient Satisfaction
Patient satisfaction to the assigned treatment will be recorded on the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8) and will be administered at 4, 12, and 24 weeks (end of study).
Time frame: 24 weeks
Patient Engagement
Patient engagement in treatment will be measured through self-report questionnaires administered at Treatment Initiation, week 4, week 12, and week 24 visits. The primary measure of ongoing patient engagement will be administered at Treatment Initiation and every 2 weeks.
Time frame: 24 weeks
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.