To the Editor: Gibson et al confidently conclude that the “clinical implications are clear: patients can die from an opioid overdose while undergoing naltrexone implant treatment”.1 The obvious implication from this statement and the general tone of the article encourages the reader to believe that naltrexone implants are somehow directly associated with opioid deaths.
Readers will agree with the authors that a risk of fatal opioid overdose exists in heroin or opioid users with and without treatment, regardless of the type of treatment chosen, and that medical professionals should provide balanced information to their patients. The community has strong feelings about the philosophy of treatments available for substance misuse. Therefore, as health professionals, it is important to ensure that what we write is not based upon personal beliefs and that facts are presented in an objective and independent manner. However, it seems that Gibson et al are providing, at best, poorly interpreted science and, at worst, speculation and alarmist rhetoric.
