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Opioid Addiction and Treatment

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Abstract

Opioid use disorder continues to be an important public health concern, reaching epidemic ranges in some countries as well as the consequences associated with consumption. A review of the pharmacology of different opioid drugs available is presented. Also, a current state of the art in the treatment of opioid-related disorders is reviewed. Opioid overdose is a potentially fatal medical emergency that can be reversed with naloxone, an antagonist of opioid receptors, in different doses and routes depending on the opioid that caused the intoxication. For opioid use disorders, the main pharmacological approach is substitution treatment (methadone, buprenorphine, slow-release oral morphine) with the objective of neurochemical stabilization, avoiding the reinforcing effect, and decreasing withdrawal symptoms and craving; there is also a naltrexone depot formulation approved for relapse prevention, associated with psychosocial interventions that seek to restore functionality and prevent relapse. In this chapter, the authors review the current state of knowledge in the field focused on clinical practice.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the following projects: Red de Trastornos Adictivos-RTA RD16/0017/0003 and RD16/0017/0010, integrated in the National RCDCI and funded by the ISCIII and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), European Commission action grants (Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, Grant Agreement number: 806996-JUSTSO-JUST-2017-AGDRUG), and grants from Suport Grups de Recerca AGAUR Gencat (2017SGR 316 and 2017SGR 530) and Instrumental Action for the Intensification of Health Professionals-Specialist practitioners (PERIS: SLT006/17/00014).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut de Neuropsiquiatria i Addiccions, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain

    Marta Torrens, Francina Fonseca & Fernando Dinamarca

  2. IMIM (Institut Hospital del Mar d’Investigacions Mèdiques), Barcelona, Spain

    Marta Torrens, Francina Fonseca & Fernando Dinamarca

  3. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Marta Torrens, Francina Fonseca, Esther Papaseit & Magi Farré

  4. Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP), Badalona, Spain

    Esther Papaseit & Magi Farré

Authors
  1. Marta Torrens
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  2. Francina Fonseca
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  3. Fernando Dinamarca
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  4. Esther Papaseit
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  5. Magi Farré
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marta Torrens .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Addiction Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Nady el-Guebaly

  2. Mental Health Department, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Monza e Brianza, Italy

    Giuseppe Carrà

  3. Division of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Department of Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Marc Galanter

  4. Population and Behavioural Science Division (Psychiatry and Addictions), University of St Andrews, St.Andrews, UK

    Alexander M. Baldacchino

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Torrens, M., Fonseca, F., Dinamarca, F., Papaseit, E., Farré, M. (2021). Opioid Addiction and Treatment. In: el-Guebaly, N., Carrà, G., Galanter, M., Baldacchino, A.M. (eds) Textbook of Addiction Treatment. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36391-8_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36391-8_18

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