Opiod Dependence « Mind • Body • Spirit

Managing Alcohol Use Disorders in OTP Patients

Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are always a concern with patients in methadone maintenance treatment for opioid addiction. Mixing alcohol with methadone can adversely affect patient compliance and treatment outcomes.

Staff members in opioid treatment programs (OTPs) need to be aware that screening and treating methadone patients for AUDs is an important part of patient care, and [...]

Prescription drug overdoses on the rise in U.S.

“People have seen the headlines related to Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson, Anna Nicole Smith and they think that’s tragic but maybe contained to Hollywood,” Dr. Jeffrey H. Coben of West Virginia University School of Medicine in Morgantown told Reuters Health.

“But the fact of the matter is we are seeing, across the country, very significant increases [...]

Methadone Maintenance Reduces Illicit Opioid Use and Improves Treatment Retention in Patients with Opioid Dependence

Methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) is the most widely used opioid agonist treatment for opioid dependence in the world. To determine the effectiveness of MMT compared with no treatment or treatment not including agonist therapy in patients with opioid dependence, Cochrane Collaboration researchers conducted a systematic review of clinical controlled trials done between 1969 and 2008. [...]

Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) During Pregnancy – Part II

This is the second of two articles on treating pregnant patients in MAT, clinical considerations related to their care, and outcomes for their babies.

Opioid treatment programs (OTPs) are caring for increasing numbers of pregnant patients-some who become pregnant while in methadone treatment programs, others who decide to begin methadone treatment [...]

Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) During Pregnancy – Part I

This is the first in a series of articles on treating pregnant patients in MAT, clinical considerations related to their care, and outcomes for their babies.

Check back in the coming days for part two, or follow us on Twitter @MeridianNetwork to get a live feed from our blog.

Holly is a 35-year-old tenth-grade dropout who [...]

Overdose Deaths Involving Prescription Opioids Among Medicaid Enrollees

During 1999–2006, the number of poisoning deaths in the United States nearly doubled, from approximately 20,000 to 37,000, largely because of overdose deaths involving prescription opioid painkillers (1). This increase coincided with a nearly fourfold increase in the use of prescription opioids nationally (2). In Washington, in 2006, the rate of poisoning involving opioid painkillers [...]

Study Shows Evidence To Support Methadone Maintenance Therapy Decreasing Arrests

A link to the entire study is provided below. Here is the abstract from the original study:

AIMS: This study examines the frequency and severity of arrest charges among heroin addicts randomly assigned to either interim methadone (IM) maintenance or to remain on a waiting list for methadone treatment. It was hypothesized that IM participants would [...]

Heroin, Prescription Drug Use Up In The Twin Cities

Trends are moving in opposite directions as cops focus on meth, and heroin dealers tap new market
Bob Von Sternberg, Star Tribune

Opiate abuse is up, but stimulant use is down.

Those countervailing trends in drug use in the Twin Cities last year were detected in a new report by the Minnesota Department of Human Services. It found [...]

Treatment of Hepatitis C within a Methadone Maintenance Program Yields Results Comparable to Treatment via Other Models of Care

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) affects more than 4 million people in the US, 60% of whom have a history of injection drug use (IDU). Concerns over treatment adherence, psychiatric comorbidity, ongoing drug use, and optimal timing of HCV treatment initiation have resulted in unwillingness on the part of many physicians to treat HCV in patients [...]

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