Driving under the influence (DUI) among patients in opioid maintenance treatment (OMT): a registry-based national cohort study

Abstract

In Norway, patients receiving opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) have reduced convictions for driving under the influence (DUI) compared with their pre-treatment levels. Being male and having a previous history of several convictions for DUI were found to be important risk factors for convictions for DUI during OMT.

Opioids and Traffic Safety – Focus on Buprenorphine

“…Experimental studies, mostly nonrandomized, indicated that cognitive function was the same or better in buprenorphine maintenance patients than in methadone maintenance patients. Although Strand et al [ 17 ] concluded that the current literature appears too limited to draw any clear and precise conclusions regarding opioid maintenance therapy and driving ability, recent data by Butken et al [ 25 ] clearly show a decreased risk for driving associated convictions in opioid maintained patients compared to pretreatment conditions. The results of recent road surveys, epidemiological studies and the EMCDDA project justify the following concluding statements.…”

“…2 other important studies have been published very recently. In Norway, Bukten et al [ 25 ] examined convictions for driving under the infl uence (DUI) before, during and after opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) by analyzing treatment data on all patients who started opioid maintenance therapy between 1997 and 2003 (N = 3 221) which were cross-linked with national criminal records. During OMT, driving-related convictions (DUI) were reduced by almost 40 % compared with pre-application levels.…”

“…In addition, relevant meta-analyses and critical reviews and relevant websites such as that of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA; www.emcdda.europa.eu) were reviewed for additional relevant publications. This review is an extension of previous review articles [ 15 , 16 ] , including the scholarly review of Strand et al [ 17 ] and includes signifi cant material published later on, including epidemiological and road surveys such as the recent EMCDDA monograph [ 1 ] , publications of Corsenac et al [ 18 ] , Callaghan et al [ 19 ] , Monarrez-Espino et al [ 20 ] , Gomes et al [ 21 ] , Legrand et al [ 22 ] , Dassanayake et al [ 23 ] , Hels et al [ 24 ] and Bukten et al [ 25 ] , among others (see Section "Defi nition of Driving Ability", below), and Pluck et al [ 26 ] and Darke et al [ 27 ] with respect to cognitive function.…”

Pharmacokinetics of Single Doses of Methadone and Buprenorphine in Blood and Oral Fluid in Healthy Volunteers and Correlation With Effects on Psychomotor and Cognitive Functions

“…A reduction in convictions for DUI among Norwegian OMT patients in treatment as compared to pre-treatment has been shown (110). During treatment a reduction of almost 40 % was seen, indicating that OMT is an effective tool to reduce convictions for DUI among opioid-dependent persons.…”

Drogas, Trastorno por Uso de Sustancias y Conducción: La intervención de los profesionales que trabajan en adicciones

“…En un estudio Noruego (Bukten et al, 2013), con un seguimiento de 9 años y que recoge los datos de colisiones e infracciones de tráfico de pacientes en tratamiento de sustitución de opiáceos, antes, durante y después el tratamiento, se observó que en los pacientes en tratamiento de sustitución de opiáceos se reducían los colisiones e infracciones de tráfico en un 40%.…”