Ian Hamilton considers a new Lancet Psychiatry systematic review and meta-analysis that examines the effectiveness of buprenorphine versus methadone for the treatment of opioid dependence, drawing from observational and randomised controlled studies.
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Vicky Carlisle summarises a promising recent RCT on the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of an adjunctive personalised psychosocial intervention in treatment-resistant maintenance opioid agonist therapy.
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Noortje Uphoff writes her debut elf blog on a recent paper in The Lancet, which looks at what works in inclusion health; providing an overview of effective interventions for marginalised and excluded populations.
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Vicky Carlisle publishes her debut elf blog on a Cochrane review of supervised dosing with long-acting opioid medication in the management of opioid dependence.
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Eleanor Kennedy considers a new systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs of diamorphine-prescribing as treatment for refractory heroin addiction.
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Meg Fluharty summarises a recent Cochrane review, which tells us that high-dose buprenorphine is an effective maintenance treatment for heroin compared to placebo, but fixed flexible-dosing methadone is superior to buprenorphine at participant retention.
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It is estimated that between 10% (Gunn 1991) and 39% (Brooke 1996) of prisoners in the UK are dependent on illicit drugs; and that 14.5% of male and 31% of female prisoners have serious mental health problems (Steadman 2009). Drug use can be associated with many health, social and criminological consequences; and when mental health [read the full story…]
Dependence on opiates (a group of drugs including heroin, morphine, and methadone) can be highly destructive for both the individual and for the people around them. Heroin addiction in particular is associated with major health risks, co-morbid mental health problems, and a wide-range of social issues. Attempting to stop opiate use leads to severe withdrawal [read the full story…]
