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Medically Supervised Withdrawal for Opioid Dependence

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Substance Abuse

Abstract

Medically supervised withdrawal from opioids can be accomplished with a variety of pharmacologic techniques. The use of agonists, antagonists, and partial agonists are widely utilized in practice today. Clonidine has been used historically to manage the adrenergic (autonomic) symptoms of opioid withdrawal. Methadone has been the gold standard for opioid agonist therapy (OAT) and is rapidly being replaced by sublingual buprenorphine. This treatment is available for the primary care physician upon fulfilling certain requirements to utilize sublingual buprenorphine. As the prescription drug epidemic continues, it is important for the practitioner to recognize the overlap between chronic pain and opioid dependence, as well as the treatment of both.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Comprehensive Pain Medicine, Florida Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (FSIPP), 100 East Sample Rd., Ste 200, Pompano Beach, FL, 33064, USA

    Sanford M. Silverman M.D.

Authors
  1. Sanford M. Silverman M.D.
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Correspondence to Sanford M. Silverman M.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Louisiana State University Interim Hospital, and Ochsner Kenner Hospital, Departments of Anesthesiology and Pharmacology, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

    Alan David Kaye

  2. Department of Anesthesiology, Yale University School of Medicine and Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

    Nalini Vadivelu

  3. Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Richard D. Urman

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Silverman, S.M. (2015). Medically Supervised Withdrawal for Opioid Dependence. In: Kaye, A., Vadivelu, N., Urman, R. (eds) Substance Abuse. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1951-2_40

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1951-2_40

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-1950-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-1951-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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