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 ) .
1-year retention and social function after buprenorphine-assisted relapse prevention treatment for heroin dependence in Sweden: a randomised, placebo-controlled trial
BACKGROUND The partial opiate-receptor agonist buprenorphine has been suggested for treatment of heroin dependence , but there are few long-term and placebo-controlled studies of its effectiveness . We aim ed to assess the 1-year efficacy of buprenorphine in combination with intensive psychosocial therapy for treatment of heroin dependence . METHODS 40 individuals aged older than 20 years , who met DSM-IV criteria for opiate dependence for at least 1 year , but did not fulfil Swedish legal criteria for methadone maintenance treatment were r and omly allocated either to daily buprenorphine ( fixed dose 16 mg sublingually for 12 months ; supervised daily administration for a least 6 months , possible take-home doses thereafter ) or a tapered 6 day regimen of buprenorphine , thereafter followed by placebo . All patients participated in cognitive-behavioural group therapy to prevent relapse , received weekly individual counselling sessions , and su bmi tted thrice weekly supervised urine sample s for analysis to detect illicit drug use . Our primary endpoint was 1-year retention in treatment and analysis was by intention to treat . FINDINGS 1-year retention in treatment was 75 % and 0 % in the buprenorphine and placebo groups , respectively ( p=0.0001 ; risk ratio 58.7 [ 95 % CI 7.4 - 467.4 ] ) . Urine screens were about 75 % negative for illicit opiates , central stimulants , cannabinoids , and benzodiazepines in the patients remaining in treatment . INTERPRETATION The combination of buprenorphine and intensive psychosocial treatment is safe and highly efficacious , and should be added to the treatment options available for individuals who are dependent on heroin
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 ) .