1Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College & Hospital, Chandigarh, India
2Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College & Hospital, Chandigarh, India
3Post-Graduate Junior Resident (MD-Psychiatry), Government Medical College & Hospital, Chandigarh, India
Naltrexone is effective in the treatment of opioid dependence syndrome (ODS) as it prevents relapse. To effectively design a cost-effective treatment modality for ODS using naltrexone as low as 25 mg is something which is worth exploring.
To study the effectiveness of 25 mg naltrexone and 50 mg naltrexone in patients with ODS.
Case record files of patients of ODS admitted in psychiatry ward from January 2015 to September 2017 were retrieved and analysed after applying coding plan.
A total of 79 patients with ODS were admitted during this period. Patients were divided into three groups-group one received 25 mg naltrexone per day, group two: 50 mg naltrexone, and group three: non-naltrexone. Cumulative abstinence duration (CAD) in group one was 48 days, group two was 52 days, and group three was 23 days. At follow-up, there was no relationship between abstinence status and dose of naltrexone prescribed and amount of opioid use.
Naltrexone is effective in reduction of craving and there was no significant difference between the different dosages of naltrexone, i.e. 25 mg and 50 mg per day.
Psychiatry, Craving, Dosage
