Addiction is a lifelong, chronic brain disease that goes with craving. Substance use disorders have become an increasingly important issue in psychiatry due to the increasing incidence and the problems they cause. Opioid addiction is one of the most difficult addictions to treat, the frequency of which is increasing day by day among substance use disorders. It has become an important public health problem in Turkey as well as in the world.
Although there are various agents used in medical treatment, there are not many options. Naltrexone is one of these limited options, and its use has increased recently. There are forms in the form of oral, intramuscular depot and subcutaneous implant. Naltrexone is an opioid receptor antagonist that blocks the effects of opioids and reduces cravings. It has low abuse potential and no side effects. Results have been found showing that the long-acting slow-release naltrexone implant has superior efficacy to oral naltrexone or placebo.