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High methadone dose significantly reduces cocaine use in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) patients
Einat Peles1, Mary Jeanne Kreek, Scott Kellogg
1Dr. Miriam & Sheldon G. Adelson Clinic for Drug Abuse, Treatment & Research, Tel-Aviv Elias Sourasky Medical Center, 1 Henrietta Szold St, Tel-Aviv, 64924, Israel.
Aim:
To evaluate whether effective methadone treatment affects cocaine use.
Methods:
421 consecutive patients admitted to a methadone maintenance clinic in Israel (1993-2002) were prospectively studied. Patients' urine samples were analyzed for cocaine during months 1 and 13.
Results:
On admission 55(13.1%) of 421 patients had urine positive for cocaine and 366 had negative. Of the 55 cocaine-positive patients, 45(81.8%) stayed in treatment at least one year, as did 267(73%) of cocaine-negative. After one year (n=312) 31 of 45 cocaine users stopped and 25 of 267 started. Methadone dose was highest in 31 patients who stopped cocaine (176.1+/-42.1 mg/ day), followed by 14 who did not stop (161.4+/-37.5 mg/day), and 25 who started during treatment (122.9+/-48.7 mg/day), or 242 who never used cocaine (119.5+/-48.4 mg/day) (ANOVA, F=15.6, p<0.0005).
Conclusions:
High methadone dose may reduce cocaine use in patients addicted to both heroin and cocaine.
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