CTN-0030-A-3: Protocol Amendment to Examine Long-Term Outcomes

Jennifer Sharpe Potter, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Roger Weiss, M.D.

Lead Investigators
Harvard Medical School, McLean Hospital
jennifer_potter@hms.harvard.edu
rweiss@mclean.harvard.edu

The study objectives are to examine long-term outcomes for individuals with opioid analgesic (OA) dependence who participated in CTN-0030.  Specifically, the study will describe the substance use trajectories of randomized participants and identify factors associated with long-term recovery from OA dependence for future research.  This exploratory, naturalistic study is intended to help generate hypotheses and guidance for further treatment research on opioid analgesic dependence.

Primary Findings

Long-term outcomes for those dependent on prescription opioids demonstrated clear improvement from baseline. These results are consistent with research on heroin dependence in supporting the value of opioid agonist therapy for prescription opioid dependence; however, half of the follow-up participants reported good outcomes without agonist therapy as well. Additionally, a small subset exhibited a worsening course, by initiating heroin use and/or injection opioid use. These data underscore the importance of longer-term follow-up in understanding the course of this increasingly prevalent substance use disorder.

Results Article: Weiss RD, Potter JS, Griffin ML, et al. Long-Term Outcomes from the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network Prescription Opioid Addiction Treatment Study. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 2015;150:112-119. [get article]

    Node Involvement

    Lead Node(s):

  • New England Consortium Node

  • All Participating Nodes:

  • New England Consortium Node