Bahji A, et al. - Researchers performed a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating how methadone and buprenorphine are influence cause-specific mortality among opioid-dependent persons. They included 32 cohort studies (representing 150,235 participants, 805,423.6 person-years, and 9,112 deaths). Methadone cohorts vs buprenorphine cohorts showed substantially higher crude mortality rates and indicated substantially higher relative risk reduction when time in-treatment was compared with time out-of-treatment. Furthermore, the first 4 weeks of treatment indicated the greatest mortality reduction. Substantial heterogeneity was observed in mortality estimates; country, region, and by the nature of the treatment provider significantly influenced these estimates. Based on these findings, they recommend undertaking precautions for the safer implementation of opioid agonist therapy, including baseline evaluations of opioid tolerance, ongoing monitoring during the induction period, education of patients regarding the risk of overdose, and coordination within healthcare services.