Patients' perspectives on buprenorphine subcutaneous implant: a case series.

Background: Considering the enormous burden represented by the opioid use disorder (OUD), it is important to always consider, when implementing opioid agonist therapy (OAT), the potential impact on patient's adherence, quality of life, and detoxification. Thus, the purpose of the study is to evaluate how the introduction of a novel OAT approach influences these key factors in the management of OUD.

Case Presentation: This article marks the pioneering use of OAT through buprenorphine implant in Europe and delves into the experience of six patients diagnosed with OUD at a relatively young age.

The experience of buprenorphine implant in patients with opioid use disorder: a series of narrative interviews.

Background: This study used narrative medicine (NM) to assess the point of view of patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) and the impact that addiction and a new treatment approach via buprenorphine implant had on their daily lives as compared with previous oral Opioid Agonist Therapy (OAT).

Methods: Five patients with OUD undergoing treatment with a buprenorphine subcutaneous implant participated voluntarily and provided their anonymity by self-describing, in response to questions prompted by the clinician, their experience with this innovative therapy. The narratives were analyzed according to standard NM methodology.

A Direct Catalytic Ethanol Fuel Cell (DCEFC) Modified by LDHs, or by Catalase-LDHs, and Improvement in Its Kinetic Performance: Applications for Human Saliva and Disinfectant Products for COVID-19.

In this work, it has been experimentally proven that the kinetic performance of a common Direct Catalytic Ethanol Fuel Cell (DCEFC) can be increased by introducing nanostructured (Zn,Al(OH))NO·HO Layered Double Hydroxides (LDHs) into the anode compartment. Carrying out the measurements with the open-circuit voltage method and using a kinetic format, it has been shown that the introduction of LDHs in the anodic compartment implies a 1.3-fold increase in the calibration sensitivity of the method.

Policies and Toxicological Screenings for No Drug Addiction: An Example from the Civil Aviation Workforce.

Introduction: Since 2008, Italian legislators, with the aim of ensuring public safety, have made it mandatory for an occupational doctor (OD) to assess specific categories of workers to exclude those who may have consumed drugs of abuse. Due to the relevance of work activities relating to the civil aviation and airport sector, a policy based on the use of training and information tools, as well as a health surveillance protocol, has been undertaken since 2009.

Materials And Methods: A total of 61,008 workers at a commercial airline underwent health surveillance between 2009 and 2019.

Milestones to reach Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) elimination in Italy: From free-of-charge screening to regional roadmaps for an HCV-free nation.

Although Italy has been on track for Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) elimination since 2019, it fell off track due to the decrease in the number of treated patients. HCV elimination in Italy will be possible if immediate action is taken. A health policy was implemented beginning in 2021, consisting of screening among key populations and birth cohorts (1969-1989), estimated to have a high prevalence of undiagnosed individuals.

Barriers to effective management of hepatitis C virus in people who inject drugs: Evidence from outpatient clinics.

Introduction And Aims: People who inject drugs (PWID) constitute the largest reservoir of hepatitis C virus (HCV). Although effective medications are available and access to care is universal in Italy, the proportion of PWID receiving appropriate care remains low.

Design And Methods: To identify the major barriers for PWID to HCV treatment we surveyed a large sample of practitioners working in outpatient addiction centres (SerDs).

Genetic and Environmental Risk Factors for Cannabis Use: Preliminary Results for the Role of Parental Care Perception.

Background: Vulnerability to cannabis use (CU) initiation and problematic use have been shown to be affected by both genetic and environmental factors, with still inconclusive and uncertain evidence.

Objective: Aim of the present study was to investigate the possible interplay between gene polymorphisms and psychosocial conditions in CU susceptibility.

Methods: Ninety-two cannabis users and ninety-three controls have been included in the study.

Recommendations for buprenorphine and methadone therapy in opioid use disorder: a European consensus.

Management of patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) commonly includes opioid agonist therapy (OAT) as a part of an integrated treatment plan. These interventions are associated with proven benefits to the individual and society. Areas covered: The use of methadone and buprenorphine within an integrated treatment plan in the management of patients with OUD: this work provides consensus recommendation on pharmacotherapy in OUD to assist clinicians with practical decision making in this field.

The challenge of perioperative pain management in opioid-tolerant patients.

The increasing number of opioid users among chronic pain patients, and opioid abusers among the general population, makes perioperative pain management challenging for health care professionals. Anesthesiologists, surgeons, and nurses should be familiar with some pharmacological phenomena which are typical of opioid users and abusers, such as tolerance, physical dependence, hyperalgesia, and addiction. Inadequate pain management is very common in these patients, due to common prejudices and fears.

Cannabis and intractable chronic pain: an explorative retrospective analysis of Italian cohort of 614 patients.

Background: Despite growing interest in the therapeutic use of cannabis to manage chronic pain, only limited data that address these issues are available. In recent years, a number of nations have introduced specific laws to allow patients to use cannabis preparations to treat a variety of medical conditions. In 2015, the Italian government authorized the use of cannabis to treat several diseases, including chronic pain generally, spasticity in multiple sclerosis, cachexia and anorexia among AIDS and cancer patients, glaucoma, Tourette syndrome, and certain types of epilepsy.

Association between gene variants and response to buprenorphine maintenance treatment.

A variety of studies were addressed to differentiate responders and non-responders to substitution treatment among heroin dependent patients, without conclusive findings. In particular, preliminary pharmacogenetic findings have been reported to predict treatment effectiveness in mental health and substance use disorders. Aim of the present study was to investigate the possible association of buprenorphine (BUP) treatment outcome with gene variants that may affect kappa-opioid receptors and dopamine system function.

METODO, a prospective observational study to assess the efficacy and tolerability of methadone in heroin-addicted patients undergoing a methadone maintenance treatment: preliminary results at baseline evaluation.

METODO (methadone efficacy therapy optimization dosage on-going) is a prospective observational study to assess the efficacy and tolerability of methadone in 500 heroin-addicted patients taking a methadone maintenance treatment, enrolled through 2010 to 2011 in five Italian sites, observed over 2 years. The Opiate Dosage Adequacy Scale has been used for the evaluation of the "adequacy" of the methadone dosage and to stratify patients in adequate and not adequate groups. The treatment efficacy has been evaluated in correlation to the dosage adequacy during the visits.

Psychobiological responses to unpleasant emotions in cannabis users.

Aim of this paper is to investigate the psychobiological reactions to experimentally induced negative emotional states in active marijuana-dependent smokers and whether changes in emotional reactivity were reversed by prolonged abstinence. Twenty-eight patients were randomly included into group A (fourteen active marijuana-dependent smokers) or group B (fourteen abstinent marijuana-dependent subjects). Emotional response evaluation of group B subjects was assessed after 6 months of abstinence.

Recommendations for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic hepatitis B and C in special population groups (migrants, intravenous drug users and prison inmates).

The global spread of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV), their high chronicity rates and their progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, are major public health problems. Research and intervention programmes for special population groups are needed in order to assess their infection risk and set up suitable prevention and control strategies. Aim of this paper is to give health care professionals information on HBV and HCV infections amongst migrants, drug users and prison inmates.

Opioid maintenance therapy suppresses alcohol intake in heroin addicts with alcohol dependence: preliminary results of an open randomized study.

An open randomized study lasting 12 months was performed to evaluate the efficacy of methadone or buprenorphine to suppress alcohol use in two hundred and eighteen heroin addicts with alcohol dependence. Daily maintenance doses of methadone were 80, 120, 160, and 200 mg/day, while doses of buprenorphine were 8, 16, 24, and 32 mg/day. As expected, both treatments were able to reduce both heroin use and addiction severity (measured with ASI interview).

Adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol plasma levels directly correlate with childhood neglect and depression measures in addicted patients.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction has been reported to be involved in vulnerability to alcohol and drug dependence in humans, possibly underlying both addictive behaviour and depression susceptibility. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible interactions between childhood adverse experiences, depressive symptoms and HPA axis function in addicted patients, in comparison with healthy control. Eighty-two abstinent heroin or cocaine dependent patients and 44 normal controls, matched for age and sex, completed the symptoms Check List-90 (SCL-90), measuring depressive symptoms, and the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Questionnaire.

Simultaneous determination of methadone, buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine in biological fluids for therapeutic drug monitoring purposes.

Methadone and buprenorphine are two of the drugs most frequently used for abstinence from illicit opioids and in the treatment of pain. A sensitive and selective high-performance liquid chromatographic method with diode array detection for the simultaneous determination of methadone, buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine has been developed. Separation of the three analytes was obtained by using a reversed-phase column (C8, 250mmx4.

Buprenorphine treatment outcome in dually diagnosed heroin dependent patients: A retrospective study.

The present study compared retrospectively in a clinical non-experimental setting the efficacy of buprenorphine (BUP) in different subgroups of dually diagnosed and non-dually diagnosed opioid-dependent patients: all the subjects included in the study showed severe long-lasting heroin addiction and 68.4% were affected by psychiatric comorbidity. Participants (206) (mean age 32.