To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors. SWISS MED WKLY 2005;135:644–646 · www.smw.ch 645 interns (psychology and social work students). They ap- proached the patients individually at the counter or in the waiting room and asked each one to participate in the study. If the patient agreed, the interview was conducted in the waiting room; interviewer and patient were alone during this time. Participation was voluntary and anony- mous. All participants signed an informed consent. The study was approved by the Psychiatric University Clinic’s Ethics Committee. The questionnaire contained the following questions: – Concerning lifetime: did you ever inject methadone; at what age for the first time; which was the first sub- stance you ever injected? – Concerning the preceding month: did you inject methadone; how many doses of methadone were you allowed to take away; of these, how many doses did you inject; did you inject other substances; if so which ones? – Age, dosage of methadone, and age at the beginning of heroin dependence. Information about the dura- tion of MMT was gathered from hospital records. Sample: Of the 87 patients who were methadone- maintained for at least one month, 80 patients (92%) were interviewed; three persons refused and four persons stopped their treatment. The recruitment period had a du- ration of 21 days. The sample (n = 80) had the following characteristics: mean age 32 years (SD = 6.0, range 16–48); 76% males; mean methadone dose 55 mg (SD = 27, range 5–150); mean duration of methadone maintenance 17 months (SD = 15, range 1–72); mean age at the beginning of opi- ate dependence 21 years (SD = 4.9, range 11–32). Lifetime: Twenty-six patients (32%) indicated having injected methadone at least once in their life (mean age 33 years, SD = 5.3; mean dosage of methadone 52 mg, SD = 23; mean duration of methadone maintenance 21 months, SD = 18; mean age at the beginning of opiate dependence 21 years, SD = 4.5). Regarding sample character- istics they did not differ substantially from the other 54 patients. Mean age at the first injection of methadone was 25 years (SD = 5.7). None of the patients reported that methadone was the first sub- stance he or she had ever injected. All of the 26 patients who had injected methadone had also injected heroin in the past; of the other 54 patients only 36 (67%) had injected heroin in the past. Patients who had injected heroin had a 1.5 times higher probability of having also injected metha- done (unadjusted risk ratio 1.5, 95% CI 1.2–1.8, CI calculated using the delta method). Preceding month: Four patients or 5% of the sample (n = 80) indicated having injected methadone during the preceding month, three of them occasionally (up to three doses of 20, 24 and 30 take-away doses), and one of them regu- larly (seven of eight take-away doses). All of these four patients had injected other substances (heroin, cocaine, flunitrazepam) in the preceding month. Results The rate of past methadone injecting proved to be 32% in this sample with a mean age of 32 years. This is a “medium” rate compared with 52% [2], 42% [3] and 18% [4], with a mean age of 29 years in these three samples. Likewise, the frequency of injecting methadone at present ap- peared to be low, as only 5% of the patients indi- cated having injected methadone during the past month, compared to 21% [3]. All patients who had injected methadone had also injected heroin in the past, of the other patients only 67%. The four pa- tients who had injected methadone during the pre- ceding month had also injected other substances during this time. Discussion Table 1 Results of studies on illicit methadone injecting. Authors Sample Mean age Mean methadone Illicit injection of methadone lifetime at present Lintzeris et al. 1999, 168 patients in methadone 34 years – – 1.2% Melbourne, AUS [1] substitution 59% male last 6 months Darke et al. 1996, 312 heroin injecting 29 years – 52% 29% Sydney, AUS [2] subjects 61% male last 6 months of these 166 in methadone – 64 mg 50% 31% substitution last 6 months Humeniuk et al. 2003, 365 heroin users (of these 86 29 years 53 mg 18% 11% Adelaide, AUS [4] in methadone substitution) 59% male last 6 months Waldvogel & 134 patients in methadone 29 years – 42% 21% Uehlinger 1999, substitution of these 80% male last month Fribourg, CH [3] 107 with peroral methadone – – – 20% last month 17 with injectable methadone – – – 41% last month Present study, Zurich, CH 80 patients in 32 years 55 mg 32% 5% methadone substitution 76% male last month Place % of males dose Details Zuletzt aktualisiert: 03. April 2020
Strukturformel: LimitatioEin verschreibender Arzt muss beachten, dass mindestens eine der folgenden Voraussetzungen erfüllt ist, damit Schwierigkeiten bei der Übernahme der Krankheitskosten durch die Krankenkasse vermieden werden.
Pharmakokinetik
Wirkmechanismus
Hier finden sie weitere Infos zu Interaktion, Kontraindikation und Nebenwirkungen sowie ein Artikel der Arud zu den Methadon-Enantiomeren. Impressum Page 2Details Zuletzt aktualisiert: 03. April 2020
Strukturformel: LimitatioEin verschreibender Arzt muss beachten, dass mindestens eine der folgenden Voraussetzungen erfüllt ist, damit Schwierigkeiten bei der Übernahme der Krankheitskosten durch die Krankenkasse vermieden werden.
Pharmakokinetik
Wirkmechanismus
Hier finden sie weitere Infos zu Interaktion, Kontraindikation und Nebenwirkungen sowie ein Artikel der Arud zu den Methadon-Enantiomeren. Impressum |