Effectiveness of community treatments for heroin and crack cocaine addiction in England: a prospective, in-treatment cohort study.

Full Abstract

BACKGROUND: Addiction to heroin and crack cocaine is debilitating and persistent, but such disorders are treatable. We present the first effectiveness study of the main community interventions for addiction to heroin and crack cocaine in England, using data from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS). METHODS: The study cohort consisted of all adults with a heroin or crack cocaine addiction, or both, who started pharmacological treatment (n=18 428 patients) or psychosocial treatment (n=2647) between Jan 1 and Nov 30, 2008, received at least 6 months' treatment or were discharged by the study endpoint (May 31, 2009), and had outcome data submitted to the NDTMS. Effectiveness was assessed from change in days of heroin or crack cocaine use, or both in the 28 days before the start of treatment and in the 28 days before review. FINDINGS: 14 656 clients-74% of the cohort eligible for analysis at review with available data-were analysed at the study endpoint. During the 28 days before review, 37% (5016/13 542) of heroin users abstained from heroin and 52% (3941/7636) of crack cocaine users abstained from crack cocaine. A higher proportion of users of heroin only abstained than did users of both heroin and crack cocaine (42% [2465/5863] vs 33% [2551/7679]; OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.36-1.56), and more users of crack cocaine only abstained than did users of both drugs (57% [295/522] vs 51% [3646/7114]; 1.24, 1.03-1.48). Overall heroin use reduced by 14.5 days (95% CI 14.3-14.7) and crack cocaine use by 7.7 days (7.5-7.9). For clients given pharmacological treatment, reduction in days of heroin use was smaller for users of both heroin and crack cocaine than for users of heroin alone (p<0.0001), but this differential effectiveness was not recorded for psychosocial treatment in heroin or crack cocaine users compared with users of both drugs. INTERPRETATION: The first 6 months of pharmacological or psychosocial treatment is associated with reduced heroin and crack cocaine use, but the effectiveness of pharmacological treatment is less pronounced for users of both drugs. New strategies are needed to treat individuals with combined heroin and crack cocaine addiction. FUNDING: National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse.

Author information

Author/s: Marsden, John (J); Eastwood, Brian (B); Bradbury, Colin (C); Dale-Perera, Annette (A); Farrell, Michael (M); Hammond, Paul (P); Knight, Jonathan (J); Randhawa, Kulvir (K); Wright, Craig (C); National Drug Treatment Monitoring System Outcomes Study Group;

Affiliation: National Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry (King's College London), London, UK. john.marsden(-atsign-)kcl.ac.uk

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Evaluation Studies; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Lancet (Lancet), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Oct; vol 374 (issue 9697) : pp 1262-70

Dates: Created 2009/10/12; Completed 2009/10/29;

PMID: 19800681, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 10/29/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

Comments and Corrections

CommentIn: Lancet. 2009 Oct 10;374(9697):1220-1. (PMID: 19819374)

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.