Health Improvement in Heroin Addicts During Opioid Maintenance Treatment
Author Information
Author(s): Skeie Ivar, Brekke Mette, Lindbæk Morten, Waal Helge
Primary Institution: Aker University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
Hypothesis
Does health care utilization due to somatic disease decrease during opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) among heroin addicts?
Conclusion
The study shows a significant reduction in health care utilization due to somatic disease incidents during OMT.
Supporting Evidence
- 278 disease incidents were registered during the observation period.
- There was a 35% reduction in all disease incidents during OMT.
- Substance-related incidents decreased by 62% during OMT.
- Injection-related incidents decreased by 70% during OMT.
- Inpatient days were reduced by 76% during OMT.
- Outpatient days were reduced by 46% during OMT.
- 62% of incidents were substance-related before OMT, compared to 36% during OMT.
Takeaway
This study found that heroin addicts got healthier and needed less medical help when they were treated with medication to stop using drugs.
Methodology
Retrospective cohort study analyzing health care utilization before and during OMT.
Potential Biases
Recall bias may affect the accuracy of reported health care contacts.
Limitations
The cohort is small and limited to one local community, and the diagnosis categorization system has not been validated.
Participant Demographics
{"gender_distribution":{"male":22,"female":13},"mean_age":37.4,"OMT_medication":{"methadone":19,"buprenorphine":5},"HCV_positive":34,"HIV_positive":0}
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.004
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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