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Editorial

The current status of heroin prescription treatment for heroin dependence

Pages 815-819 | Published online: 07 Sep 2005

Bibliography

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  • •The rationale for research into the use of heroin to treat heroin-dependent persons as argued in a major national Commission in Canada in 1973 and as perceived a quarter of a century later.
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  • BAMMER G, DOBLER-MIKOLA A, FLEMING PM, STRANG J, UCHTENHAGEN A: The heroin prescribing debate: integrating science and politics. Science (1999) 284:1277-1278. This paper summarises what had been learnt about the science and politics of HP after the Swiss trial had been completed and the Australian trial had been aborted.
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  • ••This is the major paper reporting resultsfrom the Swiss effectiveness study of HP.
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  • •Although the design of the Swiss trial made inferences of benefit difficult, these long-term impressive outcomes were observed in both patients still in treatment and those leaving after prolonged treatment.
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  • ••This is the major paper reportingimpressive results from the experimental groups compared with controls in the two carefully conducted RCTs in the Netherlands.
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  • •The major finding in this study was that patients benefiting most from HP had previously been in abstinence treatment.
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  • ••A careful review of the current stateof knowledge of the unintended adverse consequences of HP.
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  • http://wholibdoc.who.int/hq/ 192005/ a87017.pdf Essential medicines WHO model list Explanatory notes, 14th Ed, p 21 (2005).

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