Methadone maintenance treatment: A protective factor for cocaine injection in a street-recruited cohort of heroin users☆

Harm reduction interventions for drug injectors or heroin users in Spain: expanding coverage as the storm abates

“…No public policies clearly aimed at facilitating such phenomena have been identified [18,52]. However, increases in OST may have contributed to the decreasing prevalence and frequency of drug injection [53] and increased syringe coverage, especially since 1996.…”

Association between methadone dose and concomitant cocaine use in methadone maintenance treatment: a register-based study

“…There is some evidence that patients abusing cocaine during MMT are more likely to drop out [ 27 , 28 ] and present a higher risk profile regarding HIV and psychological disturbances [ 29 ], as well as higher heroin use [ 20 ]. A positive effect of MMT on concomitant cocaine use was observed in 5 observational studies [ 30 – 35 ], 1 meta-analysis [ 17 ] and 1 RCT [ 36 ]. On the other hand, a mild effect was found in 2 observational studies [ 37 , 38 ] and no effect in 2 observational studies [ 32 , 39 ] and 2 RCTs [ 40 , 41 ].…”

Potential bias due to outcome‐related loss to follow‐up in cohort studies on incidence of drug injection: systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…The rapid diffusion of the injection of heroin or cocaine was an important contributor to severe epidemics of both HIV and hepatitis C in many countries . The lower the incidence rate of drug injection, the more likely it is that high coverage of opiate substitution treatment, needle exchange programmes and antiviral treatment can control a drug injection epidemic or its consequences . It is important to know the rate of initiation into drug injection among vulnerable populations in order to estimate the future prevalence of drug injection, to understand the epidemiology of blood‐borne infections and to anticipate health care and prevention needs , as well as adverse effects on health .…”