Comparison of buprenorphine/naloxone and extended release naltrexone treatment in terms of sleep quality, sexual experiences, eating behavior and quality of life in patients with opiate use disorder

In this study, it was aimed to compare patients using sublingual B/N and extended release XR-NTX maintenance therapy in terms of sleep quality, sexual experiences, eating behavior and quality of life. A socio-demographic/clinical questionnaire, developed by the researchers, as well as the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale-Short Form (WHOQOLBref), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale (ASES) and Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) were administered face-to-face to the outpatients who were diagnosed with Opioid use disorder according to DSM-V diagnostic criteria and applied to Akdeniz University Alcohol and Substance Addiction Research and Application Center (AMBAUM) between November 2020 and April 2021. Whoqol-bref physical health, social relations and general health scale scores were found to be statistically significantly higher (p<0.05), on the other hand PUKI, ASES-Female and ASES-Male scores were found to be statistically significantly lower in the XR-NTX group than in the B/N group (p<0.05). Data from our study show that XR-NTX treatment provides a better quality of life, sleep and sex life for patients. When starting treatment for addicted patients, it is important to decide on the treatment together with the patients, to get information about the conditions that affect the quality of life such as pain, nutrition, sleep quality and sexual life at all controls, and to make remedial interventions. Key Words: Opioid use disorder, Buprenorphine/Naloxone, Buprenorphine, Extended-release naltrexone