Similar to treatment resistant depression, there is a subpopulation of those addicted to opioids who do not respond to standard opioid use disorder (OUD) treatments. In a new paper, an addiction expert at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis suggests a new category for these types of patients: treatment resistant opioid use disorder (TROUD).
“The field has suggested that if a treatment does not work, it is either the patient’s fault, they have not hit bottom, or simply we need to try the same treatment again,” said David Patterson Silver Wolf, associate professor and an expert on substance use disorder treatment. “This paper challenges the addiction research and treatment providers to change focus from individuals being resistant to the unique conditions associated with this brain disorder as being resistant to treatment as usual.”
Patterson Silver Wolf is co-author of “Treatment Resistant Opioid Use Disorder (TROUD): Definition, Rationale, and Recommendations,” recently published online in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences.