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Identifying Optimal Buprenorphine Dosing for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment and Prevention of Overdose

Randomized Clinical Trial of a 16 mg vs. 24 mg Maintenance Daily Dose of Buprenorphine to Increase Retention in Treatment Among People With Opioid Use Disorder

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Phase 2Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06316830
Acronym
Optimal Bup
Enrollment
250
Registered
2024-03-18
Start date
2025-01-06
Completion date
2027-11-01
Last updated
2025-10-23

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Opioid Use Disorder

Brief summary

The investigators aim to test the effectiveness of a high maintenance daily dose of buprenorphine (24 mg) for improving outcomes among patients who used fentanyl compared to the standard daily dose (16 mg). The main question it aims to answer is: will patients who are randomly assigned to the high 24 mg maintenance dose, as compared to patients randomly assigned to the standard 16 mg maintenance dose, have improved retention in buprenorphine treatment (primary outcome), improved treatment response based on use of non-prescribed opioids (secondary outcome), decreased opioid cravings (secondary outcome), and decreased risk of fatal and non-fatal opioid overdose (exploratory outcome).

Interventions

DRUGBuprenorphine

Buprenorphine in a highly effective treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). Buprenorphine dose guidelines for OUD treatment were determined by clinical trials conducted in populations with a history of heroin use. However, fentanyl is changing the calculation of treatment, and optimal buprenorphine dosing for people who use fentanyl is unknown.

Sponsors

Brown University
CollaboratorOTHER
Rhode Island Hospital
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* English-speaking * Age 18 years-old or older * Identified by the treating physician as having moderate to severe opioid use disorder (OUD) * Initiating or continuing buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder * History of fentanyl use (confirmed by fentanyl positive urine drug screen (UDS) at intake OR if on buprenorphine maintenance treatment fentanyl plus a positive UDS within the last month OR self- reported ongoing fentanyl use during treatment)

Exclusion criteria

* Previous enrollment in the trial * Incarcerated or in police custody\* * Pregnant * Live outside of Rhode Island (RI) * Unable to provide informed consent * Allergy to Buprenorphine * Concomitant medication use deemed to present potential for serious medication interaction by the treating clinician \*Participants that become incarcerated/or in police custody during the study will be withdrawn.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Treatment Engagementsix months post-randomizationThe primary outcome is the percentage of participants retained in buprenorphine treatment. Participants will be classified as retained in buprenorphine treatment at six months post- randomization if (1) the study site data indicate that they remained engaged in treatment or (2) the PDMP suggest that they continued treatment elsewhere and have not had a gap of more than 27 days in medication on-hand based on fill dates and days' supply.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Control of Opioid Cravingssix months post-randomizationMeasured using patient reported outcomes via the Opioid Craving Scale, a reliable, validated scale for people with opioid use disorder. The scale consists of three questions related to opioid cravings rated on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being not at all and 10 being extremely. A higher score denotes increased opioid cravings.
Treatment response based on use of non-prescribed opioidssix months post-randomizationNon-prescribed fentanyl and other opioid use will be assessed via urine drug screens including fentanyl (UDS) and self-report. UDS will be assessed monthly for six months after study enrollment. Self-reported will be assessed at 1, 3, and 6 months via a Time Line Followback (TLFB) assessing ongoing non-prescribed opioid/fentanyl over the preceding two weeks. Based on UDS and self-reported data, participants will be classified as treatment responders if they have (1) no evidence (negative UDS and negative self-report) of non-prescribed opioid use at ≥1 assessment in months 1 to 3 AND (2) no evidence of non-prescribed opioid use at ≥2 assessments in months 4 to 6.

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
Rate of Non-fatal or Fatal Opioid Overdosetwelve months post-randomizationNon-fatal and fatal opioid overdoses will be assessed using statewide data from the Rhode Island Department of Health, including the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Information System, Opioid Overdose Reporting System (OORS), and Office of the State Medical Examiners (OSME). All of these systems report non-fatal or fatal opioid overdoses which investigators will aggregate to arrive at the rate of non-fatal or fatal opioid overdoses.

Countries

United States

Contacts

Primary ContactJackie Goldman
jacqueline_goldman1@brown.edu401-808-6950
Backup ContactRachel Wightman, MD
rachel_wightman@brown.edu

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 5, 2026