The study, published in BMC Family Practice, examined problem opiate users attending general practice for methadone treatment to estimate the prevalence of chronic illness and determine their patterns of health service utilisation, compared to other patients attending for primary care.
Data was collected on 114 Irish patients attending three general practices: 57 cases (19 per practice) attending for methadone treatment and an equal number attending for primary care.
Some 52 methadone patients (91 per cent) had one or more chronic illnesses (in addition to opiate dependence) documented in their clinical record.
These comprised of hepatitis C (66 per cent for the case group compared to 38 per cent for the controls), depression (35 per cent compared to 20 per cent), asthma (25 per cent: 14 per cent), HIV/AIDS (14 per cent: eight per cent) and DVT/varicose veins/thrombo-phlebitis (seven per cent: four per cent) were the most common illnesses.
Of the 57 patients receiving methadone, 39 (68 per cent) were on another regular prescribed medication. Thirty-one (54 per cent) had had at least one acute condition during the previous three months, of which the most common were: Upper respiratory tract infection (18 per cent for the methadone cases compared to 10 per cent for the control group), insomnia, anxiety or depression (seven per cent: four per cent), abdominal pain (seven per cent: four per cent), urinary tract infection (five per cent: three per cent) and ear wax (five per cent: three per cent).
In the previous six months, the methadone patients had attended their GP for issues other than their addiction care an average of four times, and 27 patients (47 per cent) had either been referred to or attended secondary care.
Source: Irish Medical News, 29/10/2009
Safer Student Nights
eBulletin
Poll
