Opioid underdosing can lead to fentanyl overdosing

As a family physician specializing in addiction medicine, I often met patients with withdrawal symptoms at the “target dose”. Patients plagued by uncontrolled fentanyl craving are at high risk of leaving treatment and returning to addiction. Yet from 2019-2020, only 2% of buprenorphine prescriptions were for over 24mg, Lucinda Grande of University of Washington alerts us.