Assessment of alcohol use among methadone maintenance patients by direct ethanol metabolites and self-reports.

Background: Heavy alcohol consumption may accelerate the progression of hepatitis C (HCV)-related liver disease and/or limit efforts at antiviral treatment. As most of the patients in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) suffer from hepatitis C infection, this study was conducted to identify the alcohol intake among these patients at a Swiss Psychiatric University Clinic by self-reports and direct ethanol metabolites as biomarkers of ethanol consumption.

Patients And Methods: A convenience sample of 40 MMT patients (15 women, 25 men; median age 39 years) of the total 124 patients was asked and consented to participate in this study.