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Pharmacological management of opium withdrawal
Summary of the evidence
Opium withdrawal presents significant symptoms, even if milder than heroin withdrawal. Pharmacologically assisted withdrawal was found to have no effect in a systematic review (Rahimi-Movaghar et al, 2018, 13 studies, N=1096) in:
- improving treatment outcomes.
Tested medications include the following (individually or combined, and/or in different dosages): baclofen, clonidine, amantadine, buprenorphine, methadone, tramadol, gabapentin, tincure of opium.
While all these may be useful in alleviating the symptoms, there is no clear evidence as to whether any of the medications is more effective than the others in the management of opium withdrawal.
