Opiate Substitution Treatment Reduces Risk of Death by 85 Percent, Study Finds
A new study by researchers from Bristol and London have found that opiate substitution treatment can reduce the risk of mortality from opiate overdose or other drug-related events by about 85 percent. The study, published in the British Medical Journal, found that the length of time people were given opiate substitution treatment (OST) significantly affected the success of the treatment.
People who use opiates, including heroin and morphine, have a high risk of death, often from overdose. Opiate substitution treatment (OST), usually methadone or buprenorphine, can help prevent drug-related deaths. There may be an increased risk of death during the first 28 days of OST and in the first few weeks that OST ends.
The researchers examined data on 5,577 patients who were diagnosed with substance abuse and who received a total of 267,003 OST prescriptions from 1990 to 2005. The researchers followed up with the patients until one year after their last OST prescription expired, or until their death (if applicable) or the date of transfer from the clinic (if applicable). They also looked at mortality rates of the general population.
The researchers found that 178 patients died either during treatment or within a year of their last prescription, and the rate of death among those not receiving treatment was almost double that of those who were receiving treatment.
The mortality rate was 1.7 percent within the first two weeks of treatment, which was three times higher than the mortality rate during the rest of the treatment course. Mortality rates also increased during the period immediately following treatment. People were eight to nine times more likely to die during the month after stopping treatment.
This suggested that those receiving OST had an 85 percent change of reducing overall mortality in opiate addicts if they received treatment for at least 12 months. The researchers concluded that clinicians and patients should be aware of the increased mortality risk at the start and end of OST. They noted that more research is needed to look at the effects of the average duration of OST on drug-related death.
Source: Science Daily, Year-Long Opiate Substitution for Drug Misusers Has 85 Percent Chance of Cutting Deaths, October 28, 2010
