EUPHORIC RECALL? –
July 19, 2025 – Extended-release injectable buprenorphine (XR-BUP) has emerged as a promising alternative to address some of the adherence challenges of oral opioid use disorder (OUD) medications. However, real-world evaluations of XR-BUP in settings outside the United States and high-risk populations are limited. Our aim was to evaluate the feasibility and clinical utility of XR-BUP among people with OUD at risk of recurrent overdose in a low-barrier outpatient addiction treatment setting.
Participants were mostly men (64%) and White (80%), with a median age of 44 years old. Almost all participants had a lifetime history of prior overdose (92.0%) and 76% were using fentanyl at baseline. XR-BUP was well tolerated in this sample of people at high risk of overdose, six-month retention rates were low and most continued to use illicit opioids while on treatment.
