Sometimes, people who are addicted to harmful drugs like heroin need help to stop using them. Doctors help these people by giving them different, safer drugs, like methadone or buprenorphine.
These drugs are like stand-ins for the harmful ones, and they help control the patient’s craving for the harmful drugs.
However, a new study from the University of Manchester shows that this treatment can become risky if the patient is also taking certain other medications.
This new research looked at the health records of nearly 21,000 patients who were being treated with methadone or buprenorphine.
The research found that the patients who were also taking other types of medicine had more chances of overdosing. This overdose risk was so high that they had to be admitted to the hospital.
The medicines that made this risk higher were drugs often given for mental health problems or pain.
These included sedatives like benzodiazepines and Z-drugs, gabapentinoids (given for pain, epilepsy, and anxiety), and antipsychotics (used for serious mental disorders).
However, it’s important to note that not all medicines increased the risk. For example, antidepressants didn’t seem to make a difference.
The Solution: Better Communication and Care
The researchers said that doctors should be careful about giving these other medicines to patients who are being treated for drug addiction.
They should only do this if the benefits of taking the medicine are bigger than the risks.
The lead researcher, Dr. Eleni Domzaridou, explained that patients who overdose without dying often go on to have more severe, sometimes fatal, overdoses later.
Therefore, it’s really important for doctors to give these medicines as safely as possible.
Dr. Domzaridou also emphasized that when a patient is being treated for drug addiction, all their doctors need to work together.
This includes their regular doctor and any mental health professionals involved in their care.
Another researcher involved in the study, Professor Tim Millar, agreed with this. He said that this finding is an important piece of the bigger puzzle of how to help these patients and lower their risk of overdose.
Background Information: Understanding the Problem
To understand the problem, it’s helpful to know a bit about the patients and the drugs involved.
The study looked at adults aged 18 to 64 who were being treated in England for an addiction to opioid drugs (like heroin) between 1998 and 2017.
People who are addicted to opioids often feel a strong need for the drug. They keep using it even when it’s hurting them physically or mentally.
They also need more and more of the drug to get the same effect, and they have withdrawal symptoms if they try to stop.
The drugs used to treat this addiction, methadone and buprenorphine, are both types of opioids themselves.
However, they are safer and less likely to lead to overdose. Still, they can interact badly with other medicines that these patients might be taking.
Conclusion: A Vital Step towards Safer Treatment
This new study offers a significant insight into how we can make treatment safer for patients recovering from drug addiction.
Understanding the interplay of different medications can help us avoid potential overdoses and complications.
The takeaway from this research is clear: careful prescription habits and stronger collaboration between healthcare professionals can make a huge difference for patients in their road to recovery.
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The study was published in Addiction.
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