Loss of treatment benefit when heroin-assisted treatment is stopped after 12 months.

Purpose: In 2013, during a recent heroin-assisted treatment trial, participants in heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) decreased significantly more their street heroin use than participants in oral methadone treatment. After the trial, HAT was discontinued. To examine whether the treatment benefits were sustained three months after the trial, the use of street heroin by the participants was analyzed in a follow-up study.

Efficacy of Heroin-assisted Treatment In Belgium: A Randomised Controlled Trial.

Background/aims: Heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) can improve the condition of heroin addicts still using street heroin after a methadone treatment. In Belgium, a new trial compared the efficacy of a HAT to existing methadone maintenance treatment.

Methods: In this randomised controlled trial, HAT was limited to 12 months.