Long acting naltrexone for opioid addiction: the importance of mental, physical and societal factors for sustained abstinence and recovery (XR-NTX recovery)

Oslo University Hospital (OUS) is one of five sites for this multicenter, open-label treatment study where 150 opioid dependent individuals will be offered treatment with monthly injections of long-acting naltrexone (XR-NTX) for 24+28 weeks. A control group of 150 patients in opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) will also be recruited. The study will evaluate how long-term abstinence from opioids will affect mental and somatic health and promote recovery, and how efficient and safe treatment with XR- NTX will develop in a clinical, naturalistic setting. There will be monthly evaluations of the participants and data on retention in treatment, use of illegal substances and psychosocial conditions will be collected. These data from the participants will together with information from the patient’s next of kin, from professionals and from relevant national health registries form the base for analyses of the relevance of XR-NTX treatment on the participant’s recovery process, family- and network relations, as well as analyses of the costs of XR-NTX treatment compared with opioid maintenance treatment. The recruitment of OUS patients to this study is expected to start during the summer of 2019. Sponsor: Akershus University Hospital. Coordinating  Investigator (CI): Lars Tanum, Ahus. Principal Investigator OUS (PI): Asle Enger.