A Follow up Study Among Patients on Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) in Terms of Relapse Rate, Factors Affecting Relapse Rate and HCV Incidence

Background: Many countries are facing a serious problem with opioid dependence. Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) is prescribed to dependent opioid users to diminish the use and effects of illicitly acquired opioids. The high relapse rate has been affecting the effectiveness of anti-drug work all over the world.Material & Methods:In this study, 200 patients were taken by simple random sampling technique. 100 patient on Buprenorphine substitution therapy and 100 on Methadone maintenance treatment were studied. Patients diagnosed as cases of Opioid dependence as per ICD-10 were selected within the first 3 months and followed up to 1 year at 3, 6 and 9 months. The study was conducted after approval from the institutional ethics and thesis committee. A 14-item questionnaire based on a four-point scale describing the number of times certain events had occurred in the previous week for relapse was used to find factors affecting relapse.Results:The relapse rate among patients in the BPN group at 3, 6 and 9 months relapse was 29.33%, 20.34% and 19.51% while in the Methadone group, it was 24.05%, 15.87% and 12% respectively. The overall HCV Incidence was 75% among patients on Opioid Substitution Therapy. Conclusion:The findings of the study highlight the role of multiple determinants in opioid dependence and relapse. The obtained results showed that HCV infection was an alarming problem among IV opiate drug users in Punjab.