Background and Objectives Buprenorphine's high‐binding affinity as a partial µ‐opioid agonist displaces preexisting full agonists causing precipitated withdrawal, which requires most individuals starting buprenorphine to endure moderate withdrawal prior to induction to avoid precipitated withdrawal. A novel approach called microinduction has emerged to remove this prerequisite. Our aim is to review the literature on these alternative approaches. Methods Using keywords including buprenorphine, buprenorphine/naloxone, transdermal buprenorphine, suboxone, microinduction, microdosing, rapid induction, buprenorphine‐dosing protocol, the authors searched PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, PsychARTICLES, and Scopus databases from the date of inception through April 30, 2020, which yielded 1726 results, which, in turn, after manual exclusion for irrelevant content and publication in languages other than English, generated a total of 18 papers. Results On the basis of 18 papers included in this review, 63 patients were successfully transitioned to buprenorphine using different microdosing techniques, primarily in the inpatient setting. From the available data, patients were transitioned from a variety of opioids over a range of dosing without significant withdrawal, and initial doses ranged most frequently from 0.2 to 0.5 mg. While the timeframe for the various schedules ranged from 3 to 112 days, most transitioned over a period of 4 to 8 days, and most participants completed the cross titration at 8 to 16 mg. Discussion and Conclusions The growing literature demonstrates some initial promise for alternative induction models, specifically targeting patients averse to withdrawal, patients prescribed opioids for chronic pain, patients on high‐dose methadone, and patients using illicit or pharmaceutical fentanyl. Scientific Significance This manuscript provides a review of the existing literature to help clinicians better understand the approaches to microdosing of buprenorphine in various clinical settings and populations. (Am J Addict 2020;00:00–00)

BackgroundRecent trends in the legalization of marijuana in many states are increasing the popularity of recreational marijuana use. Since current data on hospitalizations in marijuana users is sparse, we evaluated the primary reasons for admissions, procedures and associated healthcare burden in hospitalized recreational marijuana users.MethodsThe National Inpatient Sample (NIS) for the years 2010–2014 was queried for the hospitalizations with a history of recreational marijuana usage using applicable ICD-9 CM codes. Descriptive statistics were used to report frequency (N) and percentage (%). Discharge weights were applied to achieve national estimates. The predictors of in-hospital mortality in recreational marijuana users were assessed using a two-way hierarchical multivariate regression after adjusting for the confounders.Results We analyzed 465,959 (weighted n=2,317,343) hospitalizations with a history of recreational marijuana use. Among psychiatric disorders, most prominent primary discharge diagnoses were mood disorders (20.6%), schizophrenia/other psychotic disorders (10.6%), and substance/alcohol-related disorders (10.4%). Suicide and intentional self-inflicted injury (3.6%) was the leading cause of emergency admission. The most common non-psychiatric primary discharge diagnoses were diabetes mellitus with chronic complications (2.2%), acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (1.2%), nonspecific chest pain (1.1%), congestive cardiac failure (CHF) (1%), arrhythmia (0.8%), and hypertension (0.8%). Acute cerebrovascular diseases were noted in 1.1% and epilepsy in 1.8% of patients. Alcohol/drug rehabilitation and detoxification (6.9%) and psychiatric evaluation/therapy (3.9%) were the most evident psychiatric procedures whereas most frequent non-psychiatric procedures were diagnostic coronary arteriography (1%), percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (0.7%), and echocardiogram (0.7%). Top independent predictors of in-hospital mortality were coagulopathy (OR 5.94), AMI (OR 4.59), pulmonary circulation disorder (OR 2.95), CHF (OR 2.02), renal failure (OR 1.91), coronary atherosclerosis (OR 1.34) and peripheral vascular disorder (OR 1.31). Major cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events also showed increasing trends among users.ConclusionWe established the most frequent psychiatric and non-psychiatric causes of admissions and procedures in recreational marijuana users, which may pose a significant healthcare burden and increase the odds of in-hospital mortality.

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BackgroundThe socio-cultural response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the level of adherence to evidence-based guidelines played a crucial role in determining the morbidity and mortality outcomes during the pandemic. This review aims to evaluate the impact of stigma and psycho-socio-cultural challenges on efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify ways to mitigate such challenges in future pandemics.MethodsUsing keywords including COVID-19, coronavirus, stigma, psychosocial challenges, and others, the authors searched seven major databases with a time limitation of July 2021, which yielded 2,038 results. Out of these, 15 papers were included in this review.ResultsThe findings of the review indicated that several psychosocial, socio-economic, and ethno-cultural factors are linked to the transmission and control of COVID-19. The research revealed that stigma and related psychosocial challenges and others, such as anxiety, fear, and stigma-driven social isolation, have resulted in significant mental health problems.DiscussionThe review underscores the negative impact of stigma on COVID-19 patients, survivors, and the general population. Addressing stigma and psychosocial challenges is crucial to effectively manage the current pandemic and to prevent similar challenges during future public health crises.