The objective of this study was to quantify the occurrence of AIDS risk related sharing activities in i.v. opiate users seeking treatment using a self administered questionnaire. Subjects were recruited among first time consultants of an outpatient clinic and assessed using the Risk for AIDS Behavior questionnaire (RAB), a self administered questionnaire that assesses both needle-sharing and unprotected sexual activity; the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) a self administered questionnaire that assesses depressive symptoms; and the Addiction Severity Index (ASI), a 45-min, structured interview that provides assessments of problem severity in seven functional areas commonly impaired among drug abusers. Among the 102 patients who came in for treatment, all 66 subjects reporting i.v. drug abuse agreed to participate. The study was based on the data collected from these 66 subjects of whom 49 were males (74%) and mean age +/- SD was 31 +/- 5. Fifty-eight-percent of theses subjects reported having shared needles or related paraphernalia over the past 6 months. Despite informational campaigns on the risks of sharing and despite the well spread knowledge of such a risk, most i.v. opiate users seeking treatment report having shared at least once over the previous 6 months.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Opiate withdrawal and electro-stimulation. Double blind experiments.

A rapid detoxification technique for heroin addicts is described. The technique uses an impulsional electric current developed by Limoge. The treatment is nonaggressive, very well tolerated by the addicts and leads to a good psychotherapeutic relationship with the medical staff. A successful physical detoxification is achieved in more than 80% of the cases (this figure is based on 400 patients treated by the method). The technique was subjected to two double-blind experiments. The first experiment tested the real efficacity of the electrical stimulation. The difference between the group of subjects stimulated and the unstimulated control group had a "p-value" which was significant at the 0,5% level. This leads us to believe that the electrical stimulation has a real positive effect. The second experiment reconfirmed the efficacity of the stimulation and showed that 24 hour continuous stimulation was not sufficient to produce a lasting effect. After about 50 hours stimulation a Naloxone test produced little or no reaction in the patients.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Effect of treatment with methadone on utilization of medical care by addicts seropositive for the AIDS virus. Results of a descriptive study, Bayonne, 1996].

Since two years, 80 patients received methadone maintenance treatment in Bayonne Médecins du Monde Center. In this population, 48% are HIV positive... The aim of this study is to determine the impact of methadone maintenance treatment on the medical status of a group of HIV positive subjects. In addition to the Addiction Severity Index collected data and quality of life evaluation by the TEAQV, the following data are collected: compliance to appointments HIV clinic, CD4 status, evolution of weight, observance of HIV medicine. Preliminary results are presented, showing precisely and confirming the good influence of methadone maintenance treatment on medical care of patients with HIV and AIDS. This kind of study, before and during the maintenance treatment (base line, third month and every six months) appears as a very important stake: for this patients with HIV and AIDS, in term of personal and medical status, for us, in term of methadone treatment impact, and health public care.

Adult↗