Clinical question: What are the benefits and harms of buprenorphine maintenance versus placebo or methadone maintenance in people with opioid dependence?

Buprenorphine, a partial opioid agonist, has pharmacological features, including safety at overdose and ease of use, which make it an interesting alternative to methadone for those with heroin use disorders. However, buprenorphine maintenance, although effective compared with placebo, was inferior to methadone in retaining people in treatment. There were no clear differences between the drugs on the other primary outcomes (drug use, safety, criminal activity)