Retention and attendance with supervised buprenorphine treatment: a case-note review.

Since 2001, the Langton Centre has used supervised administration of buprenorphine in treating heroin dependence, without distinguishing between detoxification and maintenance; most people commencing treatment may remain on buprenorphine indefinitely. The aim of this study was to describe retention in treatment, reasons for leaving, re-entry and pattern of attendance, and compare retention in practice with results from research trials, using a file review of sequential presentations for buprenorphine treatment. Retention in treatment was 37% at 6 months, the same as in Australian research trials of buprenorphine maintenance (37%); most people dropped-out without consultation or dose tapering.

Cycling in and out of treatment; participation in methadone treatment in NSW, 1990-2002.

Background: There are few descriptions of patterns of long-term participation in methadone treatment. There has been progressive expansion of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in Australia in the last 15 years, and by international standards Australia has a high participation rate in MMT, and has accumulated extensive data on participation.

Aim: (1) To analyse predictors of retention in treatment (a proxy measure of treatment effectiveness) in three cohorts of people entering public and private methadone treatment, in 1990, 1995, and 2000 in the state of New South Wales (NSW), and to compare retention rates with those reported from recent clinical trials; and (2) to describe the pattern of participation in subsequent treatment and predictors of re-entry.