Table 3.
Descriptive characteristics of five treatments for OUD
| Parameter | Injectable naltrexone | Oral naltrexone | Sublingual or oromucosal buprenorphine/naloxone | Sublingual buprenorphine | Transdermal buprenorphine* | p-value† | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | ||
| Total‡ | 1,343 | 100% | 5,327 | 100% | 28,861 | 100% | 5,693 | 100% | 2,329 | 100% | |
| Sex | |||||||||||
| Male | 881 | 66% | 3,195 | 60% | 18,249 | 63% | 2,961 | 52% | 953 | 41% | <0.001 |
| Female | 462 | 34% | 2,132 | 40% | 10,612 | 37% | 2,732 | 48% | 1,376 | 59% | |
| Age | |||||||||||
| Younger than 30 | 918 | 68% | 3,270 | 61% | 14,523 | 50% | 2,919 | 51% | 271 | 12% | <0.001 |
| 30 and older | 425 | 32% | 2,057 | 39% | 14,338 | 50% | 2,774 | 49% | 2,058 | 88% | |
| Regions | |||||||||||
| Northeast | 436 | 32% | 1,526 | 29% | 6,733 | 23% | 1,304 | 23% | 284 | 12% | |
| Midwest | 249 | 19% | 1,143 | 21% | 6,412 | 22% | 898 | 16% | 414 | 18% | |
| South | 363 | 27% | 1,577 | 30% | 9,437 | 33% | 1,892 | 33% | 951 | 41% | <0.001 |
| West | 272 | 20% | 987 | 19% | 5,364 | 19% | 1,490 | 26% | 615 | 26% | |
| Unknown | 23 | 2% | 94 | 2% | 915 | 3% | 109 | 2% | 65 | 3% | |
| Health plan types | |||||||||||
| PPO | 846 | 63% | 3,151 | 59% | 17,896 | 62% | 3,680 | 65% | 1,595 | 68% | |
| HMO | 119 | 9% | 610 | 11% | 3,313 | 11% | 506 | 9% | 221 | 9% | <0.001 |
| POS | 110 | 8% | 429 | 8% | 1,853 | 6% | 421 | 7% | 152 | 7% | |
| Other | 268 | 20% | 1,137 | 21% | 5,799 | 20% | 1,086 | 19% | 361 | 16% | |
| Substance use disorder codes§ | |||||||||||
| Alcohol | 79 | 6% | 340 | 6% | 546 | 2% | 111 | 2% | 56 | 2% | <0.001 |
| Amphetamines | 159 | 12% | 594 | 11% | 1,642 | 6% | 418 | 7% | 61 | 3% | <0.001 |
| Cannabis | 441 | 33% | 1,694 | 32% | 5,227 | 18% | 969 | 17% | 147 | 6% | <0.001 |
| Cocaine | 255 | 19% | 972 | 18% | 2,751 | 10% | 603 | 11% | 55 | 2% | <0.001 |
| Hallucinogens | 30 | 2% | 108 | 2% | 285 | 1% | 50 | 1% | 5 | 0% | <0.001 |
| Sedative | 396 | 29% | 1,543 | 29% | 4,557 | 16% | 1,085 | 19% | 301 | 13% | <0.001 |
| Ever seen in detox facility | |||||||||||
| Yes | 1033 | 77% | 3,563 | 67% | 21,491 | 74% | 3,434 | 60% | 273 | 12% | <0.001 |
| No | 310 | 23% | 1,764 | 33% | 7,370 | 26% | 2,259 | 40% | 2,056 | 88% | |
| Days to discontinuation | |||||||||||
| 30 or less | 698 | 52% | 3,729 | 70% | 9,015 | 31% | 3,323 | 58% | 1,185 | 51% | <0.001 |
| More than 30 | 645 | 48% | 1,598 | 30% | 19,846 | 69% | 2,370 | 42% | 1,144 | 49% | |
| Provider at initiation§ | |||||||||||
| Internal Medicine | 166 | 12% | 668 | 13% | 5,280 | 18% | 1,081 | 19% | 612 | 26% | <0.001 |
| Family Practice | 183 | 14% | 592 | 11% | 6,006 | 21% | 1,130 | 20% | 422 | 18% | <0.001 |
| Psychiatry | 154 | 11% | 1,207 | 23% | 5,192 | 18% | 926 | 16% | 116 | 5% | <0.001 |
| Obstetrics and Gynecology | 11 | 1% | 32 | 1% | 282 | 1% | 203 | 4% | 15 | 1% | <0.001 |
| Surgery | 10 | 1% | 29 | 1% | 214 | 1% | 68 | 1% | 74 | 3% | <0.001 |
| Pediatrics | 8 | 1% | 33 | 1% | 221 | 1% | 49 | 1% | 8 | 0% | 0.097 |
| Place of initiation§ | |||||||||||
| Office | 694 | 52% | 2,786 | 52% | 21,419 | 74% | 4,208 | 74% | 1,987 | 85% | <0.001 |
| Outpatient clinic | 498 | 37% | 2,033 | 38% | 5,377 | 19% | 982 | 17% | 335 | 14% | <0.001 |
| ED | 30 | 2% | 174 | 3% | 524 | 2% | 159 | 3% | 61 | 3% | <0.001 |
| Inpatient | 29 | 2% | 258 | 5% | 655 | 2% | 126 | 2% | 14 | 1% | <0.001 |
OUD = opioid use disorder; HMO = health maintenance organization; PPO = preferred provider organization; POS = point of service; ED = emergency department Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
Transdermal mono buprenorphine is FDA-approved for the treatment of chronic pain, not opioid use disorder.
P-value from a Chi-square test for difference across the three groups.
Total reflects the total number of individuals prescribed each medication. It is possible that one individuals began therapy on one medication, discontinued, and then initiated a different medication. In that case, the individual would be included in both medication columns.
Overlapping indicator variables: some individuals have multiple substance use disorder diagnoses during the observation period and were seen by multiple providers or in multiple settings on the day of initiation.