Kratom use disorder: case reports on successful treatment with home induction of buprenorphine-naloxone

Abstract

Background: Kratom has been used for different reasons such as pain, opioid withdrawal, and relaxation. Kratom can cause dependence and overdose, and it's classified under 'drugs of concern' by the US Drug Enforcement Administration. Despite these concerns, kratom is legal in most of the United States and many countries around the world with easy accessibility. Literature searches reveal recommendations to use buprenorphine (or buprenorphine-naloxone), which are medications to treat opioid use disorder, in order to treat patients with kratom use disorder; however, there are no formal guidelines available. Buprenorphine (or buprenorphine-naloxone) induction is recommended to be conducted under observation (i.e. in the clinic) in the United States, but COVID-19 has resulted in shifts toward telehealth.

Objectives: Describe case series of successful management of kratom use disorder using telehealth followed by unobserved buprenorphine-naloxone home induction and highlight implications for future management, including maintenance dosage and induction method.

Methods: We present 2 very similar kratom use disorder patients who reported taking 35 g of kratom per day who underwent unobserved buprenorphine-naloxone home induction.

Results: Both were seen via telehealth initially. They reported no adverse effects before, during, or after the unobserved home induction on buprenorphine-naloxone but stabilized on significantly different dosages.

Conclusion: Telehealth followed by unobserved buprenorphine-naloxone induction at home may be an alternative to traditional buprenorphine-naloxone induction where treatment accessibility is limited. In addition to daily doses of kratom use, other factors, such as duration of kratom use and individual psychological factors may determine the most comfortable dose of buprenorphine-naloxone.

Keywords: addiction medicine; buprenorphine; mitragyna; primary health care; telemedicine.