The Abuse Characteristics of Amphetamine-Type Stimulants in Patients Receiving Methadone Maintenance Treatment and Buprenorphine Maintenance Treatment

• Main Authors: Liu Y, Liu N, Shen W, Li L, Zhou W, Xu L
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2021-05-01
• Series: Drug Design, Development and Therapy
• Subjects: methadone maintenance treatment; buprenorphine maintenance treatment; amphetamine-type stimulants; impulsiveness; addiction
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/the-abuse-characteristics-of-amphetamine-type-stimulants-in-patients-r-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-DDDT

Yue Liu,1 Nina Liu,2 Wenwen Shen,1 Longhui Li,1 Wenhua Zhou,1 Leiting Xu3 1Department of Academic Research, Ningbo Kangning Hospital, Key Laboratory of Addiction Research of Zhejiang Province, Ningbo, 315201, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Basic Medicine, Ningbo College of Health Sciences, Ningbo, 315100, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Basic Medicine, Ningbo University School of Medicine, Ningbo, 315211, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Leiting XuDepartment of Basic Medicine, Ningbo University School of Medicine, Ningbo, 315211, People’s Republic of ChinaTel [phone]Email [e-mail] ZhouDepartment of Academic Research, Ningbo Kangning Hospital, Key Laboratory of Addiction Research of Zhejiang Province, Ningbo, 315201, People’s Republic of ChinaTel [phone]Email [e-mail]: The purpose of this study was to retrospectively investigate the abuse characteristics of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) in patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) and buprenorphine maintenance treatment (BMT).Methods: A total of 58 MMT and 51 BMT patients abusing ATS were recruited from the drug maintenance treatment clinic of Ningbo Addiction Research and Treatment Center from January 2018 to December 2019. They were assessed using the amphetamine abuse questionnaire (AAQ), addiction severity index (ASI) and Barratt impulsiveness scale (BIS). Moreover, 40 MMT control patients, 40 BMT control patients and 20 healthy controls were also assessed using the BIS. All information was collected using the amphetamine abuse questionnaire (AAQ), Chinese version of addiction severity index (ASI-C) and Chinese version of Barratt impulsiveness scale (BIS-C) conducted by qualified psychologists.Results: The interval of amphetamine use in the MMT group was shorter than the BMT group (P < 0.05). The drug use subscale score of ASI was higher in the MMT group than the BMT group (P < 0.05). The respective and total scores of attentional impulsiveness, motor impulsiveness and non-planning impulsiveness in BIS in the MMT group were all higher than the MMT control group (P < 0.05). The scores of motor impulsiveness and non-planning impulsiveness in the BMT group were higher than the BMT control group (P < 0.05). The respective and total scores in BIS in the MMT control group and the BMT control group were all higher than those in the healthy controls.Conclusion: The patients showing amphetamine abuse in maintenance therapy had a greater impulsiveness than those having other simple maintenance treatments, and patients under MMT may be more addicted to amphetamines in comparison with those having BMT.Keywords: methadone maintenance treatment, buprenorphine maintenance treatment, amphetamine-type stimulants, impulsiveness, addiction