The urgent need for opioid agonist treatment in Russia.

Opioid agonist medications, including methadone and buprenorphine, are life-saving treatments for opioid use disorder that reduce fatal overdose and all-cause mortality, improve retention in care, and reduce risk of infectious complications of substance use. 1 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and MedicineMedications for opioid use disorder save lives. National Academies Press, Washington, DC2019 Google Scholar Treatment with medications for opioid use disorder is also associated with increased antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and HIV viral suppression for people with HIV, as well as improved outcomes for patients with hepatitis C and invasive bacterial and fungal infections. 2 McNamara KF Biondi BE Hernández-Ramírez RU Taweh N Grimshaw AA Springer SA A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies evaluating the effect of medication treatment for opioid use disorder on infectious disease outcomes. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2021; 8ofab289 Crossref PubMed Scopus (19) Google Scholar Rapid access to antiretroviral therapy, receipt of naltrexone, and strengths-based case management versus standard of care for HIV viral load suppression in people with HIV who inject drugs in Russia (LINC-II): an open-label, randomised controlled trialGiven the effectiveness of the LINC-II intervention, scaling up this model could be one strategy to advance the UNAIDS goal of ending the HIV epidemic. Full-Text PDF