Methadone maintenance treatment has been shown in many studies to reduce mortality and morbidity among heroin users. However, there has been concern that widespread methadone prescribing will lead conversely to an increase in methadone-related deaths. This study in Sheffield shows no increase in methadone-related mortality over a two-year period, during which 400 untreated patients were recruit...

OBJECTIVES Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) effectively reduces illicit opioid use and its negative consequences when patients participate in and adhere to treatment. Patients' participation and adherence may relate to their perceptions about methadone doses and dose adjustments and the meanings that patients associate with treatment. This study assessed patient perceptions about methadone...

BACKGROUND Opioid replacement treatment (ORT) with methadone is regarded as gold standard in the treatment of opioid addiction. Treatment doses of 60 mg methadone per day and above are associated with better treatment retention and reduction in the use of heroin and cocaine. However, an absolute dose level cannot function as parameter for adequate dosing. This study aims to determine dose adequ...

AIM To assess the usefulness of cord and serum methadone concentrations at 2 days of age in predicting the severity of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in infants whose mothers received methadone during pregnancy. METHODS After informed consent, infants were enrolled if they were delivered at 35 weeks gestation or greater. Relevant information was collected from maternal notes. A sample of ...

conclusions the major risk factor of hcv infection was injection drug use. the patient’s awareness of his or her hcv status had a minor effect in reduction of illicit drug use and improvement in mmt retention. therefore, adequate counseling is necessary for drug users in mmt clinics in xi’an. background hepatitis c virus (hcv) infection rates in drug users vary among different regions of china....

OBJECTIVE This research was designed as a pilot proof-of-concept study to evaluate the use of low-dose methadone in post-herpetic neuralgia patients who remained refractory after first and second line post-herpetic neuralgia treatments and had indications for adding an opioid agent to their current drug regimens. METHODS This cross-over study was double blind and placebo controlled. Ten opioi...

Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is commonly used for controlling opioid dependence, preventing withdrawal symptoms, and improving the quality of life of heroin-dependent patients. A steady-state plasma concentration of methadone enantiomers, a measure of methadone metabolism, is an index of treatment response and efficacy of MMT. Although the methadone metabolism pathway has been partiall...

conclusions a modified tool to assess methadone treatment response serves to identify patients at high-risk for relapse at a minimal cost, as well as evaluate the relevant physical and psycho-social domains affecting opioid-dependent patients. the great will serve as a useful adjunct to regular clinical assessments, allowing clinicians and researchers to properly assess opioid addiction patient...

conclusions sleep quality showed a poorer profile than sexual function. therefore, more emphasis should be laid on treatment of sleep disparity during follow up of mmt patients comparing to their sexual function. patients should be reassured that probable sexual dysfunctions should not be regarded as a consequence of mmt. results mean ± sd age of the subjects was 41.2 ± 7.9 years and 93.4% of t...