Archives of general psychiatry
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Arch. Gen. Psychiatry · Apr 2008
Comparative StudyComparing drug-related hospital morbidity following heroin dependence treatment with methadone maintenance or naltrexone implantation.
Most research on heroin dependence treatments assesses short-term changes in patients' self-reported drug use. To our knowledge, long-term sustainability of changes in patients' drug use and associated hospital morbidity posttreatment have not been studied. ⋯ Naltrexone implants, but not methadone maintenance, has long-term benefits in reducing opioid-related hospital morbidity. However, long-lasting and increased nonopioid drug-related morbidity following naltrexone implantation is particularly concerning. Similar studies are required to confirm these findings.