Naltrexone treatment--the problem of patient acceptance.
Since the release of naltrexone for general use, we have offered it to approximately 300 narcotics-addicted patients admitted to our 4-week intensive treatment program at the Psychiatric Institute of Washington. Despite active persuasion, only 15 patients agreed to take the drug, and 11 started the outpatient phase of treatment. Only 3 of the 11 remained on naltrexone for more than 2 months. Negative local community attitudes toward all pharmacologic treatments, a strong focus on total abstinence by the recovering patient group, and self-elimination of poor candidates in this unselected population appear to be important factors in the poor acceptance of naltrexone.
Fram
D H
DH
Psychiatric Institute of Washington, D.C.
Marmo
J
J
Holden
R
R
D000328:Adult; D003000:Clonidine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008691:Methadone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009271:Naltrexone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care
D009271:Naltrexone; D003000:Clonidine; D008691:Methadone