European addiction research
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Music festivals are known to attract a high proportion of drug users. ⋯ Music festivals such as the Roskilde Festival may be important arenas for the prevention of onset of tobacco and cannabis use and for a return to substance use.
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Comparative Study
Association between prenatal tobacco exposure and outcome of neonates born to opioid-maintained mothers. Implications for treatment.
Prenatal nicotine exposure is associated with increased neonatal mortality, low birth weight, and smaller head circumference. Opioid-dependent pregnant women show a particularly high prevalence of tobacco smoking and are at greater risk for additional adverse events. However, little is known about the impact of tobacco smoking on opioid-maintained pregnant women and neonatal outcomes. ⋯ Heavy tobacco smoking in opioid-maintained pregnant women is associated with adverse medical and developmental consequences for the newborn. Future treatment programs for this target group should focus on an individualized approach to opioid maintenance therapy in addition to offering specially tailored counseling for smoking cessation.
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Comparative Study
Practitioners' attitudes concerning evidence-based guidelines in Belgian substance abuse treatment.
Evidence-based guidelines for substance abuse treatment are available in many European countries. In Belgium, no such guidelines have been developed yet at a national level although their need has repeatedly been emphasized. This study aims to assess Belgian practitioners' attitudes concerning evidence-based guidelines for substance abuse treatment. ⋯ Practitioners appear to be prepared to work with evidence-based guidelines. When developing, adapting and implementing evidence-based guidelines for substance abuse treatment, it is important for policy makers to take into account the state of the art in clinical practice as well as practitioners' needs and requirements.
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Comparative Study
Efficacy of a polyethylene glycol marker system in urine drug screening in an opiate substitution program.
Screening for concomitant drug consumption is necessary in opiate substitution therapy of opiate-dependent patients. Adulteration of samples is a common problem in this setting. A recently developed polyethylene glycol marker system allows reliable identification of urine samples. In this study, we aimed to compare the rates of drug detection in conventional and marker urine samples. ⋯ With the marker urine, an unexpectedly high prevalence of concomitant consumption can be found. Marker urine testing has a significantly higher sensitivity for the detection of concomitant drug use.
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Case Reports
Within-patient variability in clinical presentation of gamma-hydroxybutyrate withdrawal: a case report.
The emergence of gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) dependence in the UK is described, with specific reference to a case study of serial episodes of GHB withdrawal. Symptoms are broadly similar to those for alcohol withdrawal, and rapid deterioration into delirium is common in severe dependence. This case report reflects the variability in clinical presentation of GHB withdrawal and response to treatment, even within the same patient. It is concluded that GHB withdrawal requires vigorous clinical management, preferably on an elective basis, in an inpatient setting if dependence is severe.