A case-matched comparison of readmission patterns between primary methamphetamine-using and primary cocaine-using adolescents engaged in inpatient substance-abuse treatment.
OBJECTIVE
In the United States and Canada, elevated patterns of methamphetamine-related treatment admissions among youth have triggered questions about appropriate substance-abuse treatment strategies for methamphetamine-using adolescents. This study aimed to provide a comparative examination of the readmission patterns of primary methamphetamine-using and primary cocaine-using adolescents to a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based alcohol-and-drug inpatient treatment program.


METHODS
The current study employed a 5-year medical-chart review of all consecutive admissions to an inpatient, hospital-based substance-abuse treatment program for adolescents in northern British Columbia, Canada. After using a propensity-score-matching approach to construct a case-matched sample (n=202) of primary methamphetamine-using and primary cocaine-using adolescents, we employed a Kaplan-Meier survival analysis technique to test group differences in time-to-readmission.


RESULTS
The findings demonstrated that the methamphetamine group did not have a more severe time-to-readmission profile.


CONCLUSIONS
General CBT-based treatment-as-usual approaches appear to produce similar long-term readmission outcomes for these two groups of treatment-seeking adolescents.
Callaghan
Russell
R
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, ON, Canada. Russell_Callaghan@camh.net
Taylor
Lawren
L
Victor
J Charles
JC
Lentz
Tim
T
D000293:Adolescent; D019969:Amphetamine-Related Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D001955:British Columbia; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers