Expanded 2-paragraph summary at a 6th grade reading level:

This study looked at people who were getting treatment for drug addiction using methadone. Methadone is a medicine that can help people stop using illegal opioid drugs like heroin. The researchers looked at the medical records of 87 people who were getting this treatment in a hospital in Malaysia.

The study found that even though the people in the study were getting methadone treatment, over half of them were still using other illegal drugs like methamphetamine and amphetamine. The researchers also found that the amount of methadone people were taking was not linked to whether they had hepatitis C, a liver disease. The study did not find any factors that could predict whether people would be able to stop using illegal drugs during their methadone treatment.

This study was done in the real world, using the medical records of people who were getting
methadone treatment for opioid addiction. It looked at humans, not animals.

Key takeaways:

• Methadone treatment did not completely stop people from using other illegal drugs
• There was a shift towards using stimulant drugs like methamphetamine and amphetamine
• The amount of methadone people were taking was not linked to whether they had hepatitis C
• The study did not find any factors that could predict whether people would be able to stop using illegal drugs during methadone treatment

For further reading:

Link: https://www.easap.asia/index.php/find-issues/current-issue/item/920-2022-v32n3-p47

Full Citation:

Khalid K, Ooi YT, Abdul Rashid Q, Mohammad Yusoff MZA, Jamaluddin R. Methadone Maintenance Treatment for Opioid Dependents: a Retrospective Study. East Asian Arch Psychiatry. 2022;32:47-50. doi:10.12809/eaap2214