Acupuncture lowers methadone dosing in opioid use disorder

Among patients being treated for opioid use disorder, acupuncture appears to reduce methadone dosing and also reduces drug cravings.

The findings were published on July 8, 2024 in Annals of Internal Medicine.

As background the investigators noted that, “Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is effective for managing opioid use disorder, but adverse effects mean that optimal therapy occurs with the lowest dose that controls opioid craving. [The objective of this new study was] to assess the efficacy of acupuncture versus sham acupuncture on methadone dose reduction.”

For the randomized, sham-controlled trial researchers from the South China Research Center for Acupuncture and Moxibustion and Medical College of Acu-Moxi and Rehabilitation, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine in Guangzhou enrolled adults aged 65 years or younger diagnosed with opioid use disorder who attended clinic daily and who had been using MMT for at least 6 weeks.

The intervention was acupuncture or sham acupuncture 3 times a week for 8 weeks.

The two primary endpoints were the proportion of subjects who achieved a reduction in methadone dose of 20% or more compared with baseline, and the change in opioid craving measured by the change from baseline on a 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS).

Out of 118 enrolled subjects, 60 were randomized to acupuncture and 58 were randomized to sham acupuncture.

At week 8, more subjects had achieved a reduction in methadone dosing of 20% or more with acupuncture than with sham acupuncture (37 [62%] vs. 16 [29%], P<0.001, a statistically significant difference).

Also, acupuncture was more significantly effective in reducing opioid craving than sham acupuncture, with a mean and significant difference of 11.7 mm VAS (P< 0.001).

The authors concluded that the findings support the consideration of acupuncture for methadone reduction for persons who are receiving MMT.