Implementation of Oral and Extended-Release Naltrexone for the Treatment of Emergency Department Patients With Moderate to Severe Alcohol Use Disorder: Feasibility and Initial Outcomes

Study objective: Despite evidence supporting naltrexone as an effective treatment for alcohol use disorder, its use in emergency department (ED) patients has not been described. We implemented a protocol that combined substance use navigation with either oral naltrexone or extended-release intramuscular naltrexone for patients with alcohol use disorder as a strategy to improve follow-up in addiction treatment after ED discharge. Methods: In this descriptive study, we analyzed the results from adult patients discharged from the ED with moderate to severe alcohol use disorder who received either oral naltrexone or extended-release intramuscular naltrexone between May 1, 2020, and October 31, 2020, and assessed their engagement in formal addiction treatment within 30 days after discharge from the ED. Results: Among 59 patients with moderate to severe alcohol use disorder who accepted naltrexone treatment, 41 received oral naltrexone and 18 received extended-release intramuscular naltrexone. The mean (SD) age of the patients was 45.2 (13.4) years; 22 patients (37.3%) were Latinx, 18 (30.5%) were Black, and 16 (27.1%) were White. Among all patients, 9 (15.3%) attended follow-up formal addiction treatment within 30 days after discharge; 5 patients (27.8%) who received extended-release intramuscular naltrexone and 4 patients (9.8%) who received oral naltrexone attended follow-up treatment within 30 days. Conclusion: We implemented a clinical protocol for ED patients with moderate to severe alcohol use disorder using oral naltrexone and extended-release intramuscular naltrexone together with substance use navigation. Identification of alcohol use disorder, a brief intervention, and initiation of naltrexone resulted in a 15% follow-up rate in formal addiction treatment. Future work should prospectively examine the effectiveness of naltrexone as well as the effect of substance use navigation for ED patients with alcohol use disorder.