Injectable heroin - effective treatment for opiate misusers, but is it cost-effective?

Cost-effectiveness of injectable opioid treatment v. oral methadone for chronic heroin addiction.

BACKGROUND Despite evidence of the effectiveness of injectable opioid treatment compared with oral methadone for chronic heroin addiction, the additional cost of injectable treatment is considerable, and cost-effectiveness uncertain. AIMS To compare the cost-effectiveness of supervised injectable heroin and injectable methadone with optimised oral methadone for chronic refractory heroin addic...

Heroin-assisted treatment for opioid dependence: randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Heroin-assisted treatment has been found to be effective for people with severe opioid dependence who are not interested in or do poorly on methadone maintenance. AIMS To study heroin-assisted treatment in people on methadone who continue intravenous heroin and in those who are heroin dependent but currently not in treatment. METHOD In an open-label multicentre randomised control...

Heroin maintenance and attraction to treatment.

of prescribing injectable heroin and methadone to opiate-dependent drug users: associated health gains and harm reductions. Active heroin injectors' perceptions and use of methadone maintenance treatment: cynical performance or self-prescribed risk reduction? Substance It takes your heart: the image of methadone maintenance in the addict world and its effects on recruitment into treatment. Opia...

Comparison of oral preparations of heroin and methadone to stabilise opiate misusers as inpatients.

A chance to stop and breathe: participants’ experiences in the North American Opiate Medication Initiative clinical trial

BACKGROUND The North American Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI) clinical trial compared the effectiveness of injectable diacetylmorphine (DAM) or hydromorphone (HDM) to oral methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). This study aimed to determine participants' perceptions of treatment delivered in NAOMI. METHODS A qualitative sub-study was conducted with 29 participants (12 female): 18 (62.1%)...