31st January 2024

You are the night SHO assessing a patient in A+E; they report nausea, diarrhoea and tremor

You are the night SHO assessing a patient in A+E; they report nausea, diarrhoea and tremor. You observe they are restless and appear on edge. They have been initiated on buprenorphine today. They tell you their last dose of heroin was taken 1 hour before the dose of buprenorphine. They started to feel unwell and took another dose of heroin following the buprenorphine with no effect. What is most likely causing the patient’s symptoms?

Select the SINGLE most appropriate option from the list below. Select ONE option only.