A Pragmatic Randomized Control Trial Comparing Models of Care in the Management of Prescription Opioid Misuse

Phase 4

Completed

• Conditions: Opioid Use Disorder
• Interventions: Drug: Buprenorphine-Naloxone; Drug: Methadone

• Registration Number: NCT03033732
• Lead Sponsor: Didier Jutras Aswad

Brief Summary

This trial evaluates two standard of care treatments for opioid addiction: methadone and buprenorphine/naloxone. In order to improve patient care, the study will address real-world treatment conditions, including strict regulations for methadone dosing (i.e. initially dispensed daily at the pharmacy until stabilisation) vs. flexible take-home dosing for buprenorphine/naloxone. The OPTIMA study is designed with the intention to support patient-provider decision-making and evaluate health related outcomes with the overall aim of improving treatment outcomes through enhancing patient-centered approaches in clinical care.

Detailed Description

This is a multicenter, open-label, 2-arm, randomized trial with a pragmatic design involving 276 individuals with prescription opioid use disorder. Participants will be randomized to receive either:

1. Methadone provided via initial daily witnessed ingestion as per local guidelines.

2. Buprenorphine/naloxone maintenance therapy provided via flexible take-home dose regimens dispensed as per the physician's discretion, once clinical stability is achieved.

Once randomized to a study medication and treatment initiation and induction has begun, study physicians and participants will discuss the treatment plans and procedures going forward. Once treatment initiation has taken place, the participant will attend study visits every 2 weeks (including collection of urine samples) for the 24-week intervention period. For all study sites, standardized guidelines exist and will be adhered to for the safe induction of both medications. Frequency of illicit opioid use, intensity of craving and other secondary endpoints will also be assessed via standardized questionnaires.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2017-01-10
• Study First Submitted QC: 2017-01-26
• Study First Posted: 2017-01-27
• Study Start: 2017-10-02
• Primary Completion: 2020-03-31
• Study Completion: 2020-12-31
• Status Verified: 2021-06
• Last Update Submitted: 2021-06-11
• Last Update Posted: 2021-06-16

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 272

Inclusion Criteria

1. Be aged between 18 and 64 years of age inclusively;

2. Prescription opioid use disorder (as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 criteria), which requires opioid agonist therapy as per the discretion of the physician;

3. Female participants may be eligible if:

   1. Is of non-childbearing potential, defined as (i) post-menopausal (12 months of spontaneous amenorrhea and ≥45 years of age); or (ii) documented surgically sterilized (i.e., tubal ligation, hysterectomy, or bilateral oophorectomy).
   2. Is of childbearing potential, has a negative pregnancy test at screening and and agrees to use an acceptable method of birth control throughout study;

4. Be willing to be randomized to 24 weeks of either methadone or buprenorphine/naloxone adapted model of care, and to be followed for the duration of the trial;

5. Be able to provide written informed consent;

6. Be willing to comply with study procedures;

7. Be able to communicate in English or French.

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Exclusion Criteria

1. Any disabling medical condition as assessed by medical history, physical exam, vital signs and/or laboratory assessments that, in the opinion of the study physician, precludes the safe participation in the study or the ability to provide fully informed consent;
2. Any disabling, unstable or acute mental condition that in the opinion of the study physician precludes safe participation in the study or ability to provide fully informed consent;
3. Heroin reported as the most frequently used opioid in the past 30 days;
4. Taken methadone or buprenorphine/naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder maintenance treatment in the four weeks prior to screening;
5. Pain of sufficient severity as to require ongoing pain management with opioids;
6. History of a severe adverse event, hypersensitivity reaction, or allergic reaction to either methadone or buprenorphine/naloxone;
7. Pregnant, nursing, or planning to become pregnant during the study period;
8. Currently taking or have taken an investigational drug in another study in the last 30 days, confirmed via self-report;
9. Pending legal action or other reasons in the opinion of the study physician that might prevent completion of the study;
10. Presence of a substance use disorder that, in the opinion of the study physician, precludes safe participation in the study (e.g. unstable or severe alcohol use disorder, unstable or severe benzodiazepine use disorder);
11. Current treatment with medications that may interact with either methadone or buprenorphine/naloxone (e.g. Clonazepam, Benzodiazepines) OR anticipation that the patient may need to initiate such treatment during the trial that is deemed unsafe by the study physician or could prevent study completion;

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Buprenorphine/Naloxone	Buprenorphine-Naloxone	Opioid agonist treatment for opioid use disorder. Ingested orally via sublingual tablet form, flexible take home dosing.
Methadone	Methadone	Opioid agonist treatment for opioid use disorder. Ingested in liquid oral form via strict initial daily witnessed ingestion as per local guidelines.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Opioid Use	24 weeks	Opioid use will be measured by the overall proportion of opioid-free urine drug screens (UDS) during the 24 weeks of the trial (excluding the assigned metabolites of opioid agonist treatments, as appropriate), with missing values defined as positive UDS (binary, laboratory assay).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Retention in treatment	24 weeks	Retention in treatment is defined as the proportion of participants on assigned opioid agonist treatment (OAT) at the end of the study, as defined by having both a) an active prescription for the assigned OAT at week 24, and b) a positive UDS result for the assigned OAT at week 24.
Patient Satisfaction	24 weeks	Patient satisfaction to the assigned treatment will be recorded on the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8) and will be administered at 4, 12, and 24 weeks (end of study).
Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT) Medication Adherence	24 weeks	OAT medication adherence is defined as the proportion of assigned treatment doses received over the 24-week trial period assessed by both Pharmacy Abstraction and participant self-report.
Patient Engagement	24 weeks	Patient engagement in treatment will be measured through self-report questionnaires administered at Treatment Initiation, week 4, week 12, and week 24 visits. The primary measure of ongoing patient engagement will be administered at Treatment Initiation and every 2 weeks.
Safety will be evaluated by monitoring adverse events (AEs) and serious adverse events (SAEs)	24 weeks	Safety will be evaluated by monitoring adverse events (AEs) and serious adverse events (SAEs) throughout the duration of the trial. Adverse events and SAEs will be collected during study visits by means of open questions (e.g., has there been any changes to your health since the last study visit?). Also, the observation of clinically significant change in lab test results, fatal or non-fatal overdoses, and precipitated withdrawal symptoms from buprenorphine/naloxone inductions will be used to document AEs and SAEs. All AEs and SAEs will be documented using an AE Log in which the date and time of onset, the end date and time (i.e., when the AE was resolved or stabilized), the severity of the event, any action taken with respect to the study medication (e.g., no treatment or dose adjustment), and the relationship with study protocol or study medication will be recorded.

Trial Locations

Locations (7)

Edmonton Opioid Dependency Program; 🇨🇦 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Addiction Medicine Service- Centre for Addictions and Mental Health; 🇨🇦 Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Rapid Access Addictions Clinic-St. Paul's Hospital; 🇨🇦 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Ontario Addiction Treatment Centres- Sudbury Clinic; 🇨🇦 Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

Centre de Recherche du CHUM; 🇨🇦 Montréal, Quebec, Canada

Calgary Opioid Dependency Program; 🇨🇦 Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Centre de Recherche et d'Aide pour Narcomane; 🇨🇦 Montréal, Quebec, Canada