ABSTRACT
Introduction: One of the ways for addiction control and damage reduction is methadone treatment. However, the factors related to treatment failure have not been fully studied. In this study the characteristics related to treatment failure in Rafsanjan city has been studied
Method: This descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study was done based on records of patients visiting two rehabilitation centers in Rafsanjan in 2011-2013. The records were evaluated in two groups of patients. The first group [291 patients] were people with treatment failure, and the second group [309 people] were those successfully treated. Data analysis was done using t-test, chi-square, and logistic regression through SPSS 22 software
Results: The mean age of participants was 37+/-10.5 years. The two groups were significantly different in regard to kind of substance use [P =0.001], existence of mental illness [P = 0.011], treatment center [P<0.001], the dose of methadone consumption [P= 0.018], and marital status [P< 0.001]; but the difference in age, addiction duration, the concomitant use of two or more psychotropic substances, number of previous treatment, presence of physical illness, and the history of legal problems was insignificant
Conclusion: Methadone maintenance treatment is likely to be more effective if it is associated with treating the patients' mental illness, solving family problems, adequate doses of methadone, and reducing the health care costs