Publication:

Buprenorphine/naloxone maintenance therapy in patients with meperidine use disorder

Meperidine hydrochloride is a synthetic opioid and a weak µ receptor agonist. Meperidine use disorder is mostly iatrogenic and is common in health care workers. In addition, it is prescribed in acute and chronic pain complaints, and has a high potential for creating addiction. Treatment of meperidine use disorder is a challenging issue and there is no standardised treatment for meperidine addiction. Buprenorphine is a μ receptor partial agonist, a long-acting synthetic opioid for the treatment of opioid dependence and has a buprenorphine/naloxone (BN) form combined with naloxone. Buprenorphine maintenance therapy is one of the treatment options performed in opiate use disorder. But there is a paucity of data about treatment of meperidine use disorder. Here, a full remission case report is presented with BN maintenance treatment for a patient with meperidine use disorder diagnosis.