Kowsar Int J High Risk Behav Addict 2251-872X 8 1 2018 12 3 10.5812/ijhrba.66470 Mahboubeh Firouzkouhi Moghadam Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences (ZAUMS), Research Center for Children and Adolescents Health (RCCAH), Zahedan University of Medical Sciences (ZAUMS) Seyed Sepehr Hashemian Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabataba'i University (ATU), Tehran, Iran. Ahmad Hajebi Research Center for Addiction and Risky Behavior (ReCARB), Psychiatric Department, Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS), Tehran, Iran Masoud Pishjoo Research Center for Children and Adolescents Health (RCCAH), Zahedan University of Medical Sciences (ZAUMS) Alireza Noroozi Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies (INCAS), Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran, Department of Neuroscience and Addiction Studeis, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine (SATiM), Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran, Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies (INCAS), Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, IR Iran Research Article 2018 10 25 2018 1 19 2018 12 3 2019 03 31 Background : There are limited data supporting the effectiveness of buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder among adolescents. Objectives : The aim of this study was to investigate the outcomes of using buprenorphine for inpatient medically assisted withdrawal of vulnerable adolescents with opioid use disorder. Methods : From November 2015 to March 2016, 12 consecutive vulnerable adolescents due to working or living in streets were admitted to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Ward of Ali Ibn-e-Abi Talib Hospital for treatment of opioid use disorder using buprenorphine-assisted withdrawal. The clinical chart abstraction of patients’ files was made to provide the baseline situation of the patients, as well as treatment progress at discharge and one and three months post-discharge. Results : Among 12 adolescents, 8 (66.6%) were male and 4 (33.3%) were female. All patients reported crack heroin as their main drug of use. The mean maximum dose of buprenorphine in a day during hospital stay was 7.00 ± 2.00 mg in the range of 2 to 10 mg/d. The mean length of hospital stay was 14.66 ± 2.9 days. No serious adverse events were seen. Conclusions : This is the first report that provides data on the feasibility, effectiveness, and safety of inpatient buprenorphine-assisted treatment for vulnerable adolescents with opioid use disorder in Iran. Further studies are needed to investigate the safety and efficacy of withdrawal and maintenance treatment with buprenorphine in community settings. http://jhrba.com/en/articles/66470.html https://neoscriber.org/cdn/dl/9ab20b7a-0dc1-11e9-8d09-7fca3c5ac16d