This case-control cohort study used a repeated-event, case-control design using the MarketScan pharmaceutical claims data. We studied whether alcohol-related acute medical events were associated with OUD pharmacologic treatment. This design used each subject as his or her own control by comparing OUD medication use (exposure) at the time of event with exposure during control periods. Thus, the exposure variable was various types of OUD pharmacologic treatments, and the outcome variable was alcohol-related acute events. We also examined whether patients with known recent AUD claims were more likely to receive naltrexone, given its dual FDA indications for AUD and OUD, as opposed to buprenorphine and methadone, and whether the association between OUD medication and alcohol-related events varies by the presence of recent AUD claims.
