Abuse of buprenorphine in the United States: 2003-2005.

This study examines trends in the reported abuse of two sublingual buprenorphine products, Subutex and Suboxone, in the United States. Quarterly counts of abuse cases were obtained from 18 regional poison control centers (PCCS) for 2003-2005. Seventy-seven abuse cases were reported, of which 7.8 percent involved Subutex and 92.2 percent involved Suboxone. The average quarterly ratio of abuse cases per 1,000 prescriptions dispensed was 0.08 (SD +/- 0.09) for Subutex, and 0.16 (SD +/- 0.08) for Suboxone. Findings suggest that these sublingual buprenorphine formulations have a low rate of abuse based on toxico-surveillance data.