Home induction and outpatient treatment of kratom use disorder with buprenorphine-naloxone: A case report in a young adult

At least four groups of kratom consumers in the United States: latent-class analysis of motivations for kratom use

Background: Kratom is a plant with alkaloids acting at opioid, serotonergic, adrenergic, and other receptors. Consumers report numerous use motivations.Objectives: To distinguish subgroups of kratom consumers by kratom-use motivations using latent-class analysis.Methods: From July to November 2022, we utilized convenience sampling and surveyed regular kratom consumers (n = 395, 38.1 years (SD 11.2), 54.9% male, 81.3% White) regarding demographics, lifetime and past-year substance use and preferences, substance use disorder history, healthcare barriers, kratom-use motivations, and general health. We used latent-class analysis to identify subgroups by use motivation and calculated conditional probabilities (Pc) for variables in each class.Results: A four-class model best fit our data. The largest class (32.4%) was characterized by the use of kratom for self-treatment of chronic pain (Pc = .91). The smallest class (19.2%) also reported using kratom for self-treatment, but usually as a long-term replacement for other substances (Pc = .75). The other two classes (24.8% and 23.5%) reported using kratom for management of anxiety (Pc = .87-.95) and depressive symptoms (Pc = .61-.89) and for recreation (Pc = .56- .86). These were distinguished from one another by probability of at least moderate kratom use disorder (Pc = .17 vs. .53), with greater probability observed in the class with greater anxiety (Pc = .13 vs. .50) and depressive (Pc = .34 vs. .82) symptom severity and more likely recreational use motivation (Pc = .56 vs. .86).Conclusion: Kratom consumers can be classified by their use motivations. As with other psychoactive substances, the range of motivations is consistent with the range of likely effects. It is not yet clear whether some motivations might indicate the risk of problems.

Mitragyna speciosa Korth toxicity: Experimental findings and future prospects

Mitragyna speciosa (Roxb.) Korth, locally known as kratom, is a traditional medicinal plant from Southeast Asia, with mitragynine as its principal alkaloid. Similar to other medicinal plants, kratom has side effects and toxicities, which have been documented in scientific studies and case reports. The mitragynine sale and possession of kratom are prohibited in Malaysia but legalized in Thailand. In the US, kratom is not lawfully marketed as a drug product, a dietary supplement, or a food additive in conventional food. Despite these restrictions, individuals continue to self-administer kratom to alleviate various health problems, often without a comprehensive understanding of the associated toxicities. Hence, the primary aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the toxicities associated with kratom, drawing from scientific studies, case reports, and other relevant sources. It also addresses the management of these toxicities, identifies gaps in existing studies, and discusses future perspectives. Therefore, a literature review search was conducted to gather essential information for this review. The in vitro studies focused on metabolizing enzymes, indirectly indicating kratom toxicity. By contrast, the in vivo results directly demonstrated kratom's toxic effects on the liver, kidneys, lungs, and brain. Case studies, primarily from Western countries, involved both single and combination use of kratom. Thus, by shedding light on these aspects, we aim to enhance awareness among healthcare professionals and the general public. Additionally, identifying existing gaps can guide future scientific studies. Since prevention is better than cure, this review holistically presents information about the toxicities associated with the use of kratom leaves, serving anyone seeking to understand and prevent kratom-related toxicities.

Kratom: A Narrative Review of the Possible Clinical Uses and Dangers of This Opioid-Like Plant

The term "kratom" refers to a plant species formally known as Mitragyna speciosa. Kratom is composed of over 40 alkaloids, a type of organic compound that contains nitrogen. These compounds work primarily via binding to opioid receptors expressed on neurons, where they stimulate signal transduction mechanisms involving the activation of G proteins. Kratom has been shown to cause both a stimulant-like effect and a sedative effect in humans. These studies have shown that use is highest among European-American, middle-class men living in suburban areas. Additionally, individuals who have a history of opioid misuse are also more likely to take kratom. Kratom is used by many different people in the US for numerous different reasons. Some of the most often cited reasons include treating chronic pain conditions, depression, and anxiety. Individuals who used kratom for these reasons typically consumed kratom daily at a dose of 1-3 grams, with the kratom extracted into a powder to be consumed in a capsule. Additionally, there have been reports of kratom being used to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms, as kratom can bind to some of the same receptors as opioids. This manuscript specifically describes trends regarding the use of kratom in the US, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of kratom, potential therapeutic uses of kratom, adverse events caused by kratom, and case studies in the literature regarding patients using kratom.

Isolated Kratom Use Disorder Treated With Extended-Release Buprenorphine Taper

ABSTRACT

This case report highlights a 36-year-old male without history of psychiatric disease, chronic pain, or substance use disorder who developed severe substance use disorder per Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , Fifth Edition criteria to kratom. He was successfully treated with sublingual buprenorphine after a 3-year period of intermittent withdrawal management and trials of oral and extended-release injectable naltrexone. After a period of abstinence from kratom, he was tapered from buprenorphine using 2 monthly injections of 100 mg extended-release buprenorphine. His case underscores some of the current uncertainties around kratom use disorder diagnosis and treatment.

Controversies in Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Kratom Use Disorder

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

We apply the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM-5) criteria for substance use disorders (SUDs) to the herbal product kratom. Similarities and differences between kratom use disorder (KUD) and other SUDs are explored, along with assessment, diagnostic, and therapeutic recommendations for KUD.

RECENT FINDINGS

Literature reports of "kratom addiction" or KUD rarely specify the criteria by which patients were diagnosed. Individuals meeting DSM-5 KUD criteria typically do so via tolerance and withdrawal, using more than intended, and craving, not functional or ​psychosocial disruption, which occur rarely. Most clinicians who use medication to treat patients with isolated KUD select buprenorphine formulations, although there are no controlled studies showing that buprenorphine is safe or efficacious in this patient population. Diagnosis and treatment decisions for KUD should be systematic. We propose an algorithm that takes into consideration whether KUD occurs with comorbid opioid use disorder.

The use of opioid in treating a patient with kratom use disorder: A case report

Kratom is a botanical plant product that is used around the world, particularly in Southeast Asia. It is believed that it has potential benefits as a painkiller and for relieving fatigue. Specifically, kratom can produce an opioid effect, which makes it addictive. We report a 26-year-old man who presented to the clinic for treatment of kratom use disorder. He was willing to be treated because he could no longer withstand the withdrawal effect and the financial cost of his addiction. Our team successfully initiated treatment using buprenorphine-naloxone (suboxone) in pill form to treat his kratom use disorder. The patient also received non-pharmacological treatment such as psychoeducation, psychotherapy, and motivational interviews. He was successfully treated with suboxone and within a week he was kratom free and happy.

Need for clarity and context in case reports on kratom use, assessment, and intervention

This Letter to the Editor is a response to Broyan and colleagues who recently published a Case Report presenting data on 28 patients in the United States who identified kratom as their primary substance of use and who were subsequently induced on buprenorphine/naloxone for a reported diagnosis of kratom use disorder. We applaud the authors for helping to advance the science on kratom and recognize the difficulties in conducting kratom-related clinical assessment and research. However, a number of inconsistences and generalizations were identified in this Case Report, which also lacked some critical context. Importantly, such inconsistencies and generalizations can be observed throughout kratom-specific case reports. We feel this is now an important opportunity to highlight these issues that are present in the Broyan and colleagues Case report but emphasize that they are not unique to it. We do this with the hope that by acknowledging these issues it can help inform editors, clinicians, and researchers who may not be familiar with kratom and, as a result of this unfamiliarity, may inadvertently present findings in a manner that could confuse readers and even misinform clinical researchers and practitioners.

Health Effects Associated With Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) and Polysubstance Use: A Narrative Review

Background

Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) consumption and associated health effects have raised debates in the United States. Although most people using this herb do not experience adverse health effects associated with kratom use, medical providers should be knowledgeable of emerging substances and concurrent, sequential, or simultaneous use of other drugs which may impact healthcare recommendations and prescribing practices.

Methods

The objective of this narrative review was to elucidate selected health effects associated with using kratom-either alone or with other substances. Since scientifically controlled human subjects research on kratom use is still limited, relevant case reports were also described.

Results

Cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, neurological, and psychiatric effects associated with kratom use were especially notable, and in-utero exposure accompanied concern regarding a neonate's risk for developing neonatal abstinence syndrome. Our ability to identify and understand the role of this herb in kratom-associated fatalities is complicated since kratom is not routinely screened for in standard forensic toxicology. If a screening is performed, it is usually for the major alkaloid, mitragynine, as a surrogate for kratom use. In addition to lacking a standard practice of screening decedents for kratom alkaloids, the association between mortality and kratom use may be confounded by polysubstance use, adulteration of kratom products, and drug-herb interactions.

Conclusions

Increasing medical awareness of this herb is vital to ensuring prompt administration of best-practice medical advice or treatment for people seeking information related to kratom use or for patients experiencing an adverse health effect that may be associated with using or withdrawing from kratom. Knowledge gained from continued surveillance and study of kratom and its associated health effects may assist in guiding clinical decision-making and preventing development of adverse health effects among people using kratom.

Searching for a Signal: Self-Reported Kratom Dose-Effect Relationships Among a Sample of US Adults With Regular Kratom Use Histories

There is limited understanding regarding kratom use among US adults. Although motivations for use are increasingly understood, typical kratom doses, threshold of (low and high) doses for perceived effectiveness, and effects produced during cessation are not well documented. We aimed to extend prior survey work by recruiting adults with current and past kratom exposure. Our goal was to better understand kratom dosing, changes in routines, and perception of effects, including time to onset, duration, and variability of beneficial and adverse outcomes from use and cessation. Among respondents who reported experiencing acute kratom effects, we also sought to determine if effects were perceived as helpful or unhelpful in meeting daily obligations. Finally, we attempted to detect any signal of a relationship between the amount of kratom consumed weekly and weeks of regular use with ratings of beneficial effects from use and ratings of adverse effects from cessation. We conducted an online survey between April-May 2021 by re-recruiting participants from a separate study who reported lifetime kratom use. A total of 129 evaluable surveys were collected. Most (59.7%) had used kratom >100 times and reported currently or having previously used kratom >4 times per week (62 weeks on average). Under half (41.9%) reported that they considered themselves to be a current "regular kratom user." A majority (79.8%) reported experiencing acute effects from their typical kratom dose and that onset of effects began in minutes but dissipated within hours. Over a quarter reported that they had increased their kratom dose since use initiation, whereas 18.6% had decreased. Greater severity of unwanted effects from ≥1 day of kratom cessation was predicted by more weeks of regular kratom use (β = 6.74, p = 0.02). Acute kratom effects were largely reported as compatible with, and sometimes helpful in, meeting daily obligations. In the absence of human laboratory studies, survey methods must be refined to more precisely assess dose-effect relationships. These can help inform the development of controlled observational and experimental studies needed to advance the public health understanding of kratom product use.

For Better or Worse: Self-reported Changes in Kratom and Other Substance Use as a Result of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background:

Kratom is taken to self-treat pain and symptoms of psychiatric disorders, including substance-use disorders (SUDs) and opioid withdrawal. Before COVID-19, kratom use was increasing in the US, however, there are few published data on whether that trend continued during the COVID-19 pandemic, which could have affected kratom use in multiple ways.

Aim:

To examine COVID-19-related changes in kratom use and how these changes were experienced, relative to changes in other commonly used substances.

Methods:

Using Amazon Mechanical Turk, 2615 evaluable surveys were completed between September 2020 and March 2021. Responses from past-month and past-year kratom-using adults (N = 174) indicating changes for the better or worse were examined using generalized linear mixed effects models, and relevant open-text responses (n = 85) were thematically coded.

Results:

For kratom 33% (n = 58) reported a Covid-related increase and 24% (n = 42) reported a Covid-related decrease. Controlling for changes in amount used, alcohol (OR = 5.02), tobacco (OR = 4.72), and nonmedical opioid use (OR = 3.42) were all more likely to have changed for the worse, compared with kratom use. Relative to decreases in kratom use, decreases in alcohol (OR = 3.21) and tobacco (OR = 6.18) use were more likely to be changes for the better. Cannabis use was the only substance to display a probability lower than 50% of being a decrease for the better, and of the increases, cannabis use displayed the highest probability of being for the better.

Conclusions:

Increases in kratom and cannabis use were less likely than alcohol and tobacco to be reported as changes for the worse, and decreases in kratom and cannabis use were more likely than alcohol and tobacco to be reported as changes for the better. These findings indicate that people differently conceptualize their relationships with kratom and cannabis, compared to their relationships with alcohol and tobacco.

Case Report: Treatment of Kratom Use Disorder With a Classical Tricyclic Antidepressant

Kratom or Mitragyna speciosa (Korth.) is an evergreen tree of the coffee family native to South-East Asia and Australasia. It is used by locals recreationally to induce stimulant and sedative effects and medically to soothe pain and opiate withdrawal. Its leaves are smoked, chewed, or infused, or ground to yield powders or extracts for use as liquids. It contains more than 40 alkaloids; among these, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine are endowed with variable mu, delta, and kappa opioid stimulating properties (with 7-hydroxymitragynine having a more balanced affinity), rhynchophylline, which is a non-competitive NMDA glutamate receptor antagonist, but is present in negligible quantities, and raubasine, which inhibits α₁-adrenceptors preferentially over α₂-adrenceptors, while the latter are bound by 7-hydroxymitragynine, while mitragynine counters 5-HT_2A receptors. This complexity of neurochemical mechanisms may account for kratom's sedative-analgesic and stimulant effects. It is commonly held that kratom at low doses is stimulant and at higher doses sedative, but no cut-off has been possible to define. Long-term use of kratom may produce physical and psychological effects that are very similar to its withdrawal syndrome, that is, anxiety, irritability, mood, eating, and sleep disorders, other than physical symptoms resembling opiate withdrawal. Kratom's regulatory status varies across countries; in Italy, both mitragynine and the entire tree and its parts are included among regulated substances. We describe the case of a patient who developed anxiety and dysphoric mood and insomnia while using kratom, with these symptoms persisting after withdrawal. He did not respond to a variety of antidepressant combinations and tramadol for various months, and responded after 1 month of clomipramine. Well-being persisted after discontinuing tramadol.

Pharmacology of Herbal Sexual Enhancers: A Review of Psychiatric and Neurological Adverse Effects

Sexual enhancers increase sexual potency, sexual pleasure, or libido. Substances increasing libido alter the concentrations of specific neurotransmitters or sex hormones in the central nervous system. Interestingly, the same pathways are involved in the mechanisms underlying many psychiatric and neurological disorders, and adverse reactions associated with the use of aphrodisiacs are strongly expected. However, sexual enhancers of plant origin have gained popularity over recent years, as natural substances are often regarded as a safer alternative to modern medications and are easily acquired without prescription. We reviewed the psychiatric and neurological adverse effects associated with the consumption of herbal aphrodisiacs Areca catechu L., Argemone Mexicana L., Citrus aurantium L., Eurycoma longifolia Jack., Lepidium meyenii Walp., Mitragyna speciosa Korth., Panax ginseng C. A. Mey, Panax quinquefolius L., Pausinystalia johimbe (K. Schum.) Pierre ex Beille, Piper methysticum G. Forst., Ptychopetalum olacoides Benth., Sceletium tortuosum (L.) N. E. Brown, Turnera diffusa Willd. ex. Schult., Voacanga africana Stapf ex Scott-Elliot, and Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal. A literature search was conducted on the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases with the aim of identifying all the relevant articles published on the issue up to June 2020. Most of the selected sexual enhancers appeared to be safe at therapeutic doses, although mild to severe adverse effects may occur in cases of overdosing or self-medication with unstandardized products. Drug interactions are more concerning, considering that herbal aphrodisiacs are likely used together with other plant extracts and/or pharmaceuticals. However, few data are available on the side effects of several plants included in this review, and more clinical studies with controlled administrations should be conducted to address this issue.

The Chemistry of Kratom [Mitragyna speciosa]: Updated Characterization Data and Methods to Elucidate Indole and Oxindole Alkaloids

Two separate commercial products of kratom [Mitragyna speciosa (Korth.) Havil. Rubiaceae] were used to generate reference standards of its indole and oxindole alkaloids. While kratom has been studied for over a century, the characterization data in the literature for many of the alkaloids are either incomplete or inconsistent with modern standards. As such, full 1H and 13C NMR spectra, along with HRESIMS and ECD data, are reported for alkaloids 1-19. Of these, four new alkaloids (7, 11, 17, and 18) were characterized using 2D NMR data, and the absolute configurations of 7, 17, and 18 were established by comparison of experimental and calculated ECD spectra. The absolute configuration for the N(4)-oxide (11) was established by comparison of NMR and ECD spectra of its reduced product with those for compound 7. In total, 19 alkaloids were characterized, including the indole alkaloid mitragynine (1) and its diastereoisomers speciociliatine (2), speciogynine (3), and mitraciliatine (4); the indole alkaloid paynantheine (5) and its diastereoisomers isopaynantheine (6) and epiallo-isopaynantheine (7); the N(4)-oxides mitragynine-N(4)-oxide (8), speciociliatine-N(4)-oxide (9), isopaynantheine-N(4)-oxide (10), and epiallo-isopaynantheine-N(4)-oxide (11); the 9-hydroxylated oxindole alkaloids speciofoline (12), isorotundifoleine (13), and isospeciofoleine (14); and the 9-unsubstituted oxindoles corynoxine A (15), corynoxine B (16), 3-epirhynchophylline (17), 3-epicorynoxine B (18), and corynoxeine (19). With the ability to analyze the spectroscopic data of all of these compounds concomitantly, a decision tree was developed to differentiate these kratom alkaloids based on a few key chemical shifts in the 1H and/or 13C NMR spectra.

A Complex Case of Kratom Dependence, Depression, and Chronic Pain in Opioid Use Disorder: Effects of Buprenorphine in Clinical Management

Mitragyna speciosa (Kratom) is a psychotropic tropical tree that is indigenous to Southeast Asia, Africa and New Guinea. Kratom has gained popularity in the United States in more recent years as an opioid agonist. Although Kratom is considered an opioid agonist with abuse potential, its use is not federally regulated. We report on a 47 year-old male presenting to our clinic for treatment of an opioid use disorder. This began with the use of prescription opioids from a doctor, and when this was no longer available this patient started using Kratom. He had used Kratom for one year to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms and chronic pain, resulting in worsening depression, anxiety and pain. He experienced tolerance and withdrawal symptoms related to Kratom. He was initiated on buprenorphine-naloxone at home with improved pain management. Four months after initiation, the patient's depression and anxiety symptoms resolved, and he was able to discontinue his antidepressant and anxiolytic medications. Kratom dependence and withdrawal appear similar to that of opioids, and may also lead to worsening depression and anxiety. Buprenorphine-naloxone may be a viable option to consider for treating opioid use disorder complicated by Kratom use, chronic pain, and depression.