Given the litany of challenges faced by individuals in recovery from substance use disorders (SUD), the necessity to offer several tools to help individuals reduce or abstain from alcohol and other drugs has become increasingly clear.
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In many treatment settings, both inpatient and outpatient, medication assisted treatments (e.g., buprenorphine/naloxone (“Suboxone”) and naltrexone/depot naltrexone (“Vivitrol”)) are increasingly being offered as a piece of what is considered best clinical practice.
In the current study, Blum and his co-authors from research departments and clinical settings across the country, tackled these important issues.
The study used urine toxicology screens to determine the presence of prescribed and illicit substances among 2,919 individuals in SUD treatment during 2010 and 2011. Although inpatient settings were also included, outpatient treatment was the primary modality (96%), with standard outpatient (53%) and opiate treatment (31%) representing the substantial majority of settings in which patients received treatment. Only the first and last screens were used in analyses, which varied considerably in the time-lag among the patients analyzed, but on average were about 6 months apart. Patients were deemed to have been “compliant” if their prescribed anti-addiction medications were detected at both first and last screen, and “abstinent” if their screens were negative for all tested drugs, apart from those with documented prescription.
Interestingly, for those who were not abstinent, medication compliant patients were less likely to test positive for marijuana, but more likely to test positive for benzodiazepines (i.e., non-prescribed anti-anxiety medications like Xanax). Authors also found that, when considering all available screens (not just first and last) for a randomly selected group of 511 patients, there were trends of increasing medication compliance, and increasing abstinence over time.
The increasing acceptance of medications, particularly for opioid addiction, in the field has seen leading addiction treatment organizations traditionally opposed to medication-assisted treatment, like the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, alter their philosophies based on this emerging science.
Blum et al.’s study makes two important contributions.
l
In many treatment settings, both inpatient and outpatient, medication assisted treatments (e.g., buprenorphine/naloxone (“Suboxone”) and naltrexone/depot naltrexone (“Vivitrol”)) are increasingly being offered as a piece of what is considered best clinical practice.
In the current study, Blum and his co-authors from research departments and clinical settings across the country, tackled these important issues.
The study used urine toxicology screens to determine the presence of prescribed and illicit substances among 2,919 individuals in SUD treatment during 2010 and 2011. Although inpatient settings were also included, outpatient treatment was the primary modality (96%), with standard outpatient (53%) and opiate treatment (31%) representing the substantial majority of settings in which patients received treatment. Only the first and last screens were used in analyses, which varied considerably in the time-lag among the patients analyzed, but on average were about 6 months apart. Patients were deemed to have been “compliant” if their prescribed anti-addiction medications were detected at both first and last screen, and “abstinent” if their screens were negative for all tested drugs, apart from those with documented prescription.
Interestingly, for those who were not abstinent, medication compliant patients were less likely to test positive for marijuana, but more likely to test positive for benzodiazepines (i.e., non-prescribed anti-anxiety medications like Xanax). Authors also found that, when considering all available screens (not just first and last) for a randomly selected group of 511 patients, there were trends of increasing medication compliance, and increasing abstinence over time.
The increasing acceptance of medications, particularly for opioid addiction, in the field has seen leading addiction treatment organizations traditionally opposed to medication-assisted treatment, like the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, alter their philosophies based on this emerging science.
Blum et al.’s study makes two important contributions.
l
In many treatment settings, both inpatient and outpatient, medication assisted treatments (e.g., buprenorphine/naloxone (“Suboxone”) and naltrexone/depot naltrexone (“Vivitrol”)) are increasingly being offered as a piece of what is considered best clinical practice.
In the current study, Blum and his co-authors from research departments and clinical settings across the country, tackled these important issues.
The study used urine toxicology screens to determine the presence of prescribed and illicit substances among 2,919 individuals in SUD treatment during 2010 and 2011. Although inpatient settings were also included, outpatient treatment was the primary modality (96%), with standard outpatient (53%) and opiate treatment (31%) representing the substantial majority of settings in which patients received treatment. Only the first and last screens were used in analyses, which varied considerably in the time-lag among the patients analyzed, but on average were about 6 months apart. Patients were deemed to have been “compliant” if their prescribed anti-addiction medications were detected at both first and last screen, and “abstinent” if their screens were negative for all tested drugs, apart from those with documented prescription.
Interestingly, for those who were not abstinent, medication compliant patients were less likely to test positive for marijuana, but more likely to test positive for benzodiazepines (i.e., non-prescribed anti-anxiety medications like Xanax). Authors also found that, when considering all available screens (not just first and last) for a randomly selected group of 511 patients, there were trends of increasing medication compliance, and increasing abstinence over time.
The increasing acceptance of medications, particularly for opioid addiction, in the field has seen leading addiction treatment organizations traditionally opposed to medication-assisted treatment, like the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, alter their philosophies based on this emerging science.
Blum et al.’s study makes two important contributions.
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