| خلاصه مقاله | Objective : Buprenorphine maintenance therapy (BMT) is a well-known method of treating opioid use disorders but what happens in practice may not meet our expectations. this study aimed to understanding the situation of BMT clients in Tabriz, Iran
Methods: In this descriptive-analytic study 200 patients receiving BMT were followed up monthly for 16 months. Participants selected by a convenient sampling model. Variables like retention in treatment (defined as regular attendance to the clinic and negative urine test for illicit drugs), occupation, education, and number of attempted times for treatment have been studied. No intervention was done in their usual treatment. Chi-Square test was used to assess the relationship between retention in treatment and other variables. The threshold for statistical significance was set at 0.05
Results: Our sample included 4 female and 196 male patients. 123 patients out of 200 (61.5 %), had a regular attendance without opioid use during follow-up and 21% of patients (42 patient) left the treatment. The mean dose of Buprenorphine was 5.11± 2.53 mg. As the dose of the Buprenorphine increases, the risk of leaving the treatment decreases by 0.29 times, which is statistically significant (p<0.05). Those with a history of more than one opioid maintenance treatment attempts had longer maintenance in treatment (p<0.01). Stopping treatment occurred in 16.7% of unemployed patients and in 13% of employed ones which wasn’t statistically significant (p=0.382). There was no significant association between higher education, job, gender and retention in treatment
Conclusion: One of the most interesting finding of this study is that patients were treated with relatively low doses of Buprenorphine that can lead to treatment failure. Various reasons, including differences in the pattern of drug use disorders in different societies, patient expectations from the treatment system, clinics' approach to the treatment of opioid drug use disorders and buprenorphine treatment costs may be involved. In order to provide the most effective treatment, it seems necessary to make fundamental revisions in approaches and rules. Various cultural, social reasons and the availability of treatment facilities can explain the low number of female patients and other findings of this study |