Predictive factors of persisting illicit drug use in hospitalized heroin addicts.

The efficacy of methadone treatment in reducing the rate of positive urinalyses for opiates has been repeatedly assessed in outpatient intravenous heroin users (IHUs), but not in IHUs hospitalized for coexisting diseases. The aim of the present study, performed on 83 IHUs, was to assess the rate of drug-free urinalyses for addictive drugs over a 13-day period of hospitalization. The rate of drug-free urinalyses was then related to the intensity of withdrawal symptoms, the level of dependence (as measured by the severity of dependence scale (SDS)) and of heroin craving (as measured by a visual analogical scale, (VAS)), assessed on admission and on days 4, 7, 10, and 13.