University audit uncovers serious flaws in celebrated opioid-detox study for pregnant women

After moving to Knoxville in 2010, Dr. Craig Towers treated a surge of pregnant patients addicted to opioids and published a study claiming that detoxification with naltrexone posed little risk to fetuses, a result that reshaped treatment protocols in Tennessee and beyond. The work was lauded by local media and featured on national programs, and it attracted funding from the University of Tennessee medical school. In 2020, eight specialists in addiction and obstetrics sent a letter to the university questioning the study’s ethics and methodology, prompting an internal audit.

The audit concluded that Towers had not obtained IRB approval, supplied contradictory documentation, and failed to provide clear patient data, while also mislabeling the study as prospective. The journal later issued a short correction but did not retract the paper, despite the university’s request. Towers maintains that the audit was flawed and that his patients gave informed consent, but critics argue the issues undermine the study’s credibility and could endanger vulnerable mothers and infants.