Psychiatry Medical News about methadone retention buprenorphine

Become a Member Today!
Register

Most Viewed Abstracts

1. Report Shows Shift in Starting Salaries for Physicians

2. 2008 Exclusive Survey—Earnings: Good news for primary care income

3. Medicare pay-for-reporting effort draws fire from frustrated doctors

4. Debunking Myths in the US Healthcare System

5. Omega-3 fatty acids for bipolar disorder

Your Article Summary

See Latest Articles

(Click the title below to leave the MDLinx Network and go to the Journal's Website)

Comparing retention in treatment and mortality in people after initial entry to methadone and buprenorphine treatment
Addiction, 06/29/09

Bell J et al. - Buprenorphine was safer during induction. Despite shorter retention in treatment, buprenorphine maintenance was not associated with higher risk of death.

Methods

First entrants to treatment between June 2002 and June 2006 were identified from the PHDAS database.
Retention in treatment was compared between methadone and buprenorphine.
Names were linked to the NDI database, and `good matches' were identified.
Deaths were classified as occurring during induction, maintenance and either post-methadone or post-buprenorphine, depending on the latest episode of treatment prior to death.
The numbers of inductions into treatment, of total person-years spent in each treatment, and person-years post-methadone or buprenorphine, were calculated.
Risk of death in different periods, and different treatments, was analysed using Poisson regression.

Results

A total of 5992 people entered their first episode of treatment—3349 (56%) on buprenorphine, 2643 on methadone.
Median retention was significantly longer in methadone (271 days) than buprenorphine (40 days).
During induction, the risk of death was lower for buprenorphine (relative risk=0.114, 95% confidence interval=0.002-0.938, P=0.02, Fisher's exact test).
Risk of death was lowest during treatment, significantly higher in the first 12 months after leaving both methadone and buprenorphine.
Beyond 12 months after leaving treatment, risk of death was non-significantly higher than during treatment.

<< Previous
Does Anxiety Affect Risk of Dementia? Findings From the...

Next >>
Alcohol Consumption as a Risk Factor for Dementia and Cognitive...