Demystifying Buprenorphine
Micro-inductions
Neil K. Shah, PharmD, BCPS &
Nicholas Field, PharmD
9:15-10:15 a.m.
Overview
Buprenorphine's partial opioid mu-receptor agonism poses an inherent challenge when implementing treatment in opioid use disorder and/or chronic pain patients who are opioid tolerant due to the risk of precipitated withdrawal. In 2010, literature on “buprenorphine micro-inductions” was introduced as a novel and innovative method for patients who were unable to tolerate standard inductions. Since then, more literature has been published affirming this induction method as a legitimate and potentially more effective way to initiate and increase access to treatment. Our presentation will hope to “demystify” this strategy and provide guidance for clinicians looking to utilize micro-inductions in their practice.
Learning Objectives
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Identify barriers associated with standard buprenorphine inductions and recognize when micro-inductions may be useful.
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Explain what a buprenorphine micro-induction is and how it works based on buprenorphine’s pharmacology .
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Discuss current evidence on different micro-induction protocols in various clinical settings.
Biographies
Neil K. Shah, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Neil K. Shah is a Clinical Pharmacy Practitioner (CPP) in Pain Management and Substance Use Disorders (SUD) at the Wilkes Barre VA Medical Center in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. Dr. Shah graduated with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in 2020 and went on to complete both his PGY1 Pharmacy Practice and PGY2 Pain and Palliative Care residencies at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System in Little Rock, Arkansas. In his current role at the Wilkes Barre VA, Dr. Shah treats Veterans suffering from debilitating chronic pain and/or substance use disorders to find meaningful and sustained recovery. Dr. Shah is also a published author and co-author of various studies that investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of buprenorphine in its various formulations.
