Comparison of Lapse Rate in Drug Dependent Patients in 2 Methods of Methadone Maintenance Treatment and Buprenorphine Maintenance Treatment

Mohammadreza Vafaeinasab; Hamidreza Zare; Ali Dehghani; Seyedehzahra Malek; Maryam Dehghani-Tafti; Mohammadtaghi Sarebanhassanabadi

doi:10.1177/11782218221112502

Comparison of Lapse Rate in Drug Dependent Patients in 2 Methods of Methadone Maintenance Treatment and Buprenorphine Maintenance Treatment

Subst Abuse. 2022 Jul 22:16:11782218221112502. doi: 10.1177/11782218221112502. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Mohammadreza Vafaeinasab¹, Hamidreza Zare², Ali Dehghani³, Seyedehzahra Malek⁴, Maryam Dehghani-Tafti⁵, Mohammadtaghi Sarebanhassanabadi⁶

Affiliations

¹ Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Non-communicable Diseases Research Institue, Yazd Cardiovascular Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
² General practitioner, Addiction Therapists Association, Fajr Addiction Treatment Center, Yazd, Iran.
³ Epidemiology, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
⁴ Social Science, Addiction Therapists Association, Fajr Addiction Treatment Center, Yazd, Iran.
⁵ Geriatric Nursing, Non-communicable Diseases Research Institue, Yazd Cardiovascular Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
⁶ Epidemiology, Non-communicable Diseases Research Institue, Yazd Cardiovascular Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.

Abstract

Background: Lapse has been one of the major challenges in the treatment of drug dependence sometimes leading to its relapse.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the lapse rate in drug dependent patients as for the 2 methods of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) and buprenorphine maintenance treatment (BMT) in Yazd city.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 626 female and male patients who had referred to 5 SUD treatment centers in Yazd and had been treated with methadone and buprenorphine maintenance were studied. Participants were divided into 2 groups of MMT and BMT and were evaluated based on lapse within 6 months.

Results: In this study, 60.9% of patients were treated with methadone but the rest were treated with buprenorphine. Overall, 33.1% of patients lapsed (35.2% for methadone and 29.8%for buprenorphine). Lapse in methadone treatment was correlated with age, occupational status, and duration of treatment (P < .05); it failed to correlated with any other demographic and clinical characteristics (P > .05). Lapse rate in buprenorphine treatment was also related to marital status and the drug used (P < .05). The mean dose of buprenorphine consumed showed no significant relationship with lapse (P > .05). The results demonstrated that given the low dose, lapse stood higher in the buprenorphine group than the methadone group; however, as to high dose, the buprenorphine group showed lower lapse than the other group.

Conclusions: In regard with the high rate of lapse, it is recommended to consider the factors related to the 2 methods of treatments, and provide counseling and training programs to lower lapse in the patients.Ethics Committee (REC) approval code: IR.SSU.REC.1394.158.

Keywords: Lapse; buprenorphine; maintenance treatment; methadone.