Changes in methadone take-home dosing before and after COVID-19
| Autor: | Emily L. Thorn, Paul J. Joudrey, Robert Lutz, Solmaz Amiri, Ofer Amram |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2022 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
2019-20 coronavirus outbreak medicine.medical_specialty Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) 030508 substance abuse Medicine (miscellaneous) Access to care Article 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Opiate Substitution Treatment medicine Humans 030212 general & internal medicine Dosing Psychiatry Pandemics SARS-CoV-2 business.industry COVID-19 Methamphetamine Opioid-Related Disorders Psychiatry and Mental health Clinical Psychology Methamphetamine use Pshychiatric Mental Health 0305 other medical science business Methadone medicine.drug |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment |
| ISSN: | 0740-5472 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jsat.2021.108552 |
| Popis: | Introduction In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a federal exemption allowed stable and less stable patients greater take-home doses of methadone. We assessed the adoption of increased take-home medication during COVID-19 and whether increased take-home doses is associated with clients' characteristics. Methodology We completed a pre-post study of adults receiving methadone for OUD from an OTP in Spokane, Washington. Our outcome was the change in the number of take-home methadone doses three months before and three months after the March 2020 take-home medication exemption. Clients' characteristics included age, gender, ethnicity, education level, homelessness, spatial access to the clinic, and methamphetamine use. Results The study included 194 clients in treatment for a median of three years. All study participants experienced an average increase in take-home medication of 41.4 in the three-month period after the COVID-19 exemption. In the final adjusted models, clients who reported using methamphetamine in the last 30 days experienced a significantly larger increase in take-home dosage (55.6 days) compare to clients who did not use methamphetamine (p ≤0.001). Most of the clients who reported using methamphetamine were also likely to be homeless. All other variables were not associated with a change in take-home doses. Conclusion These results suggest that the Spokane OTP quickly expanded take-home medication dosing in response to the COVID-19 exemption and broadly expanded take-home dosing among established clients. Clients with concurrent methamphetamine use were allowed fewer take-home doses prior to COVID-19, but after the exemption the clinic provided them the same number of take-home doses as clients who had not used methamphetamine. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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