AltaPointe's Behavioral Health Crisis Center in Mobile, Ala., has begun offering the use of ketamine to help transition a patient from fentanyl to addiction-treatment medicine buprenorphine.
Traditional treatments like buprenorphine — often referred to by the common brand name Suboxone — can make withdrawal symptoms worse if given too soon after fentanyl use due to its high potency , according to a Nov. 8 news release.
Ketamine, which is an anesthetic medicine often used to treat chronic pain or treatment-resistant depression, can be used to reduce opioid withdrawal symptoms and cravings.
With the use of ketamine, patients are able to return home in a matter of hours as opposed to the several days needed to help patients transition from fentanyl to buprenorphine due to the intense withdrawal symptoms, according to Luke Engeriser, MD, deputy chief medical officer and director of the addiction medicine fellowship program.
"We are in the midst of a horrible opioid overdose epidemic, where people are dying every day. The use of ketamine in this way may be new, but I think there is a really important place for this in helping people transition to Suboxone quickly, safely, and comfortably," Dr. Engeriser said in the release.