Aims Determine the extent to which buprenorphine injectors continue treatment with buprenorphine-naloxone or methadone, and the impact of these treatments on substance use and HIV risk in the Republic of Georgia. Methods Randomized controlled 12-week trial of daily-observed methadone or buprenorphine-naloxone followed by a dose taper, referral to ongoing treatment, and follow-up at week 20 at the Uranti Clinic in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia. Eighty consenting treatment-seeking individuals (40/group) aged 25 and above who met ICD-10 criteria for opioid dependence with physiologic features and reported injecting buprenorphine 10 or more times in the past 30 days. Opioid use according to urine tests and self-reports, treatment retention, and HIV risk behavior as determined by the Risk Assessment Battery. Results Mean age of participants was 33.7 (SD5.7), 4 were female, mean history of opioid injection use was 5.8 years (SD4.6), none were HIV+ at intake or at the 12-week assessment and 73.4% were HCV+. Sixty-eight participants (85%) completed the 12-week medication phase (33 from methadone and 35 from buprenorphine/naloxone group); 37 (46%) were in treatment at the 20-week follow-up (21 from methadone and 16 from the buprenorphine/naloxone group). In both study arms, treatment resulted in a marked reduction in unprescribed buprenorphine, other opioid use, and HIV injecting risk behavior with no clinically significant differences between the two treatment arms. Conclusions Daily observed methadone or buprenorphine-naloxone are effective treatments for non-medical buprenorphine and other opioid use in the Republic of Georgia and likely to be useful for preventing HIV infection.

Aim: The aim of the study was to understand the prevalence and patterns of the non-medical injecting use of buprenorphine among drug injectors in Georgia. Method: A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among injecting drug users enrolled in Georgian needle exchange programmes. The questions covered topics related to drug use career, patterns (frequency, history, dosage) and reasons for the use of buprenorphine. Results: Pharmaceutical buprenorphine in the form of Subutex® was the most commonly injected drug in terms of lifetime (95.5%) and last-month (75%) prevalence of use. 48% of those study participants who had injected Subutex at some point reported having used it to cope with withdrawal or to give up other opioids. 90.5% of Subutex injectors used 1–2 mg as a single dose, and the mean frequency of its injection was 6 times per month. 75% of Subutex injectors had used 3 or more types of illegal drugs during the last 30 days. Conclusion: While widely misused by Georgian drug injectors, Subutex is neither the principal nor the favourite drug, and it is rather used as self-treatment. The authors consider the introduction of buprenorphine maintenance treatment to be a promising effective measure to decrease its non-medical and illegal use.

Opioid misuse, abuse, and dependence are global problems whose patterns vary across cultures. In the USA, the non-medical use of prescription opioids has become particularly serious because of its association with addiction and overdose death. Agonist and antagonist medications have been shown to be effective for opioid-dependent adults, and there is a growing body of data that they are also effective for youth. Here, we summarize evidence that detoxification alone results in high rates of treatment dropout and relapse but that the limited but growing data on the extended use of medication-assisted treatment for opioid-dependent youth have been positive. The implementation of medication-assisted treatment as a standard practice is feasible, easily integrated with counseling or psychotherapy, and has potential to greatly improve outcomes. Although concerns about safety and efficacy with youth require more research, and we do not advocate indefinite maintenance, we suggest that opioid-dependent youth should be considered as candidates for medication-assisted treatment delivered in a comprehensive, developmentally appropriate context, beginning at the first episode of care, with the strength of the recommendation to use medication increasing with each care episode.

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