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Clinical Insights
August 26, 2024

Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder—An Essential Medical Treatment

Author Affiliations
  • 1Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
  • 2Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut
JAMA Intern Med. 2024;184(10):1248-1249. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2024.3977

Buprenorphine is a highly effective first-line medication to treat opioid use disorder (OUD). Buprenorphine treats opioid craving and withdrawal, is associated with reduced opioid use and risk of HIV and hepatitis C, lowers all-cause mortality and opioid overdose risk by 60%, and increases treatment retention.1 The number needed to treat for buprenorphine to prevent 1 fatal opioid overdose is 52.6; for comparison, the number needed to treat for aspirin to prevent 1 nonfatal myocardial infarction is 333.2

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