Effectiveness of methadone versus buprenorphine in the treatment of opioid use disorder: secondary analyses of prospective cohort study data

OBJECTIVES: To compare the effectiveness of buprenorphine-naloxone (bup/nal) and methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) in the treatment of patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) during the fentanyl era. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of prospective cohort study data. SETTING: Data for the study were collected from 54 clinical sites across Ontario, Canada, between May 2018 and January 2023. PARTICIPANTS: To be included in the present study, participants had to be at least 16 years of age, have provided written informed consent and be receiving either MMT or bup/nal therapy for OUD. This study includes data from 2601 participants, of whom 2068 were receiving MMT and 533 were receiving bup/nal for OUD. The mean age of participants was 39.4 years (SD: 10.9), and 45% were female. INTERVENTIONS: MMT or bup/nal treatment for OUD. OUTCOME MEASURES: We employed a propensity score matched analysis to compare treatment outcomes among patients receiving MMT compared with bup/nal. We used ongoing illicit opioid use as an indicator of treatment outcome. We considered participants with >50% of urine drug screens in the past 12 months positive for non-prescribed opioids to be 'non-responders'. We conducted subgroup analyses to identify whether treatment type was associated with ongoing non-prescribed opioid use among patients with and without a history of intravenous drug use (IVDU), and whether treatment type was associated with retention in treatment. RESULTS: Eight per cent of patients on bup/nal were considered non-responders, compared with 11.9% of patients on MMT. We did not find a statistically significant association between treatment type and treatment response. However, we did find that patients on MMT were more likely to stay in treatment for 12 months (OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.45 to 2.22, p<0.001). We also found that, among patients without a history of IVDU, those on MMT were more likely to continue using non-prescribed opioids, compared with those on bup/nal (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.07 to 2.77, p=0.023). CONCLUSIONS: Among a cohort of patients with OUD receiving treatment during the fentanyl era, we find that there is no statistically significant difference in ongoing non-prescribed opioid use between patients receiving MMT compared with bup/nal. Future studies should aim to further compare treatment effectiveness using patient-centred outcomes and pragmatic trial designs.