title: Long-term effects of heroin-assisted treatment in Germany.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Trials in Switzerland, the Netherlands and Spain have found that heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) as maintenance treatment for opioid-dependent patients reduces illicit drug use. A German trial also found diamorphine treatment to be superior to methadone treatment. The present study describes the association between 2 years of heroin treatment and improvements in health and social stabilization, as well as illicit drug use.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective cohort study design.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 515 patients were assigned to diamorphine treatment; 278 patients remained in the study treatment for the entire period of 24 months (54.8%).
  
  
  METHODS
  The results on physical (Opiate Treatment Index Health Symptoms Scale) and mental (Symptom Checklist 90-Revised Global Severity Index) health and illicit drug use (number of days with drug use within the last month-European Addiction Severity Index) were examined by repeated-measures analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Symptoms of physical (Pillai's trace = 0.837, df = 4, P < 0.001) and mental health (Pillai's trace = 0.450, df = 4, P < 0.001) improved during treatment. Street heroin use declined rapidly (Pillai's trace = 0.836, df = 4, P < 0.001), as did cocaine use (Pillai's trace = 0.280, df = 4, P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HAT is associated with improvements in mental and physical health in the long term.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research of Hamburg University, CIAR, Hamburg, Germany. verthein@sozialwiss.uni-hamburg.de
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Verthein
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bonorden-Kleij
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Degkwitz
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dilg
authors.forename: Wilfried K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Köhler
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Passie
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soyka
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanger
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vogel
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Haasen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D003932:Heroin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008691:Methadone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers / Q000379:methods*; D013995:Time; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D003932:Heroin; D008691:Methadone