Rapid initiation protocol for naltrexone for OUD

Abstract

Your idea of “rapid” may be different from that of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which funded a study showing that it is possible to start patients on injectable, extended-release naltrexone (trade name Vivitrol) within five to seven days after they stop opioid use — and called that “rapid initiation.” But it's all relative. The standard treatment method was within 10–15 days, according to NIDA. The new finding shortens that painful period.