Lofexidine for Inpatient Opiate Detox in Singapore

Summary

In Singapore, opiate substitution medication e.g. methadone is only licensed for use with specific population. The standard treatment is one week of detoxification assisted with diazepam and symptomatic treatment followed by one week of rehabilitation. However, diazepam is highly addictive and widely abused among heroin users and pharmacologically, does not reduce the physical and psychological craving for opioids which can trigger relapse. Many opiate patients undergoing inpatient detoxification leave prematurely (i.e. PID: patient initiated discharge) because of the severity of unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. The purpose of the study is to establish an alternative medication to reduce opiate withdrawal symptoms for use in Singapore by evaluating the clinical efficacy of Lofexidine versus Diazepam in the management of the opiate withdrawal syndrome during inpatient detoxification.

Timeline

Start

2012-08

Primary completion

2015-07

Completion

2015-07

Publications

• Guo S, Manning V, Yang Y, Koh PK, Chan E, de Souza NN, Assam PN, Sultana R, Wijesinghe R, Pangjaya J, Kandasami G, Cheok C, Lee KM, Wong KE. Lofexidine versus diazepam for the treatment of opioid withdrawal syndrome: A double-blind randomized clinical trial in Singapore. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2018 Aug;91:1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2018.04.012. Epub 2018 Apr 25.

Drugs

Indications

No indication recorded.