Dosage of pharmacologic medication and length of follow-up did not affect changes in domain scores .
WHOQOL-BREF and ASI domain scoring is a useful tool in measuring overall quality of life and levels of addiction among OST participants .
BACKGROUND Opioid substitution treatment ( OST ) can increase quality of life ( WHOQOL-BREF ) and reduce addiction severity index ( ASI ) scores among participants over time .
OST program participants have noted that improvement in quality of life is one of the most important variables to their reduction in drug use .
However , there is little systematic underst and ing of WHOQOL-BREF and ASI domain changes among OST participants in low and middle-income countries ( LMIC ) .
Sublingual Buprenorphine and Methadone Maintenance Treatment: A Three-Year Follow-Up of Quality of Life Assessment
This study was conducted to compare long-term outcome effects on the quality of life ( QOL ) of oral methadone with sublingual buprenorphine maintenance treatment . The QOL status of opioid-dependent patients was assessed using the German version ( “ Berlin Quality of Life Profile ” ) of the Lancashire Quality of Life Profile . Physical symptoms were measured using the Opiate Withdrawal Scale ( OWS ) . Urine tests were carried out r and omly to detect additional consumption . In the first study period , 53 opioid-dependent subjects were enrolled and 25 could be reached after 3 years . The retention rate was 50 % for methadone and 45 % for buprenorphine ( p = 0.786 ) . Baseline values of the total sample ( completers and noncompleters ) QOL and somatic complaints did not show significant differences between the two treatment groups . QOL characteristics at 6 months of treatment of the buprenorphine completer and noncompleter groups differed significantly regarding job ( p = 0.013 ) , family , and total score of physical symptoms ( p = 0.002 ) , in which the completer group showed the more favorable values . Concerning physical symptoms at 36 months , logistic regression revealed significantly less stomach cramps ( p = 0.037 ) and fatigue and tiredness ( p = 0.034 ) in buprenorphine compared to the methadone . Moreover , the buprenorphine-maintained group showed significantly less additional consumption of benzodiazepines ( p = 0.015 ) compared with methadone participants . It is concluded that opioid addicts improved their QOL and health status when treated with methadone or buprenorphine . In summary , regarding QOL and health status , the present data indicate that buprenorphine is also a useful long-term alternative for maintenance treatment of opioid-dependent patients
Dosage of pharmacologic medication and length of follow-up did not affect changes in domain scores .
WHOQOL-BREF and ASI domain scoring is a useful tool in measuring overall quality of life and levels of addiction among OST participants .
BACKGROUND Opioid substitution treatment ( OST ) can increase quality of life ( WHOQOL-BREF ) and reduce addiction severity index ( ASI ) scores among participants over time .
OST program participants have noted that improvement in quality of life is one of the most important variables to their reduction in drug use .
However , there is little systematic underst and ing of WHOQOL-BREF and ASI domain changes among OST participants in low and middle-income countries ( LMIC ) .