Ambulatory opioid detox possible in primary care setting. (adapted from the Journal of General Internal Medicine, 10:255-260, 1995)

Primary care settings may be appropriate for providing detoxification services for opioid addicts using clonidine or a combination of clonidine and naltrexone, according to an article published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Investigators Patrick G. O'Connor, M.D., and colleagues from Yale University School of Medicine say that access to detoxification conducted by the primary care physician may make life easier for addicts who lack the medical insurance to pay for other types of detoxification.

However, it is inappropriate if providers cannot place addicts in a drug treatment program immediately following detoxification.

The authors compared two types of ambulatory detoxification provided in a primary care clinic. One was a 12-day clonidine …