Diagnostic value of self-report of alcohol use in patients enrolled in a methadone maintenance treatment program (MMTP).

Screening for ethanol use amongst the methadone maintained population has been the subject of some debate over recent years. Of particular concern is the diagnostic value of self report of alcohol use in patients enrolled in a methadone maintenance program (MMTP). This study demonstrates unequivocally that denial of alcohol use by MMTP patients is completely unreliable when compared to urine testing.

Tampering by office-based methadone maintenance patients with methadone take home privileges: a pilot study.

Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) is among the most widely studied treatments for opiate dependence with proven benefits for patients and society. When misused, however, methadone can also be lethal. The issue of methadone diversion is a major concern for all MMT programs.

Screening for alcohol use patterns among methadone maintenance patients.

Alcohol use among Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) patients poses a major health risk, exacerbates psychopathology, and increases the risk of death by accidental overdose. Despite these factors, screening for alcohol use remains underutilized in the methadone community. Utilizing a self-report screening measure - the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST) - and consistent with the literature, we found high rates of alcohol problems among MMT patients.

Screening for substance use patterns among patients referred for a variety of sleep complaints.

Virtually all psychiatric and substance use disorders are associated with sleep disruption. Studies indicate that psychiatric disorders are related closely to chronic insomnia and that psychoactive substances have acute and chronic effects on sleep architecture. Several aspects of sleep are compromised in individuals taking these substances, ranging from difficulty initiating sleep to difficulty maintaining sleep and hypersomnia.

Measurement of symptom withdrawal severity in a 24-hour period after the anesthesia-assisted rapid opiate detoxification procedure.

This study examined the Anesthesia-Assisted Rapid Detoxification (AAROD) procedure and the measurement of withdrawal symptom severity within a 24-hour period. The Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale (COWS) was utilized at various time intervals, post detoxification. This study demonstrated that all of the patients who underwent the AAROD procedure had withdrawal symptoms post detoxification in the mild range of severity, unlike like traditional detoxification procedures.