Take-Home Methadone Associated With Lower Mortality & Treatment Discontinuation

Initiating take-home methadone was associated with lower all-cause mortality and treatment discontinuation compared with requiring daily visits for methadone dosing. Among prevalent new users, starting take-home methadone within five to 12 weeks after induction was associated with the largest reduction in mortality risk, at 0.98 percentage points over 78 weeks. Starting within 13 to 24 weeks was associated with the largest reduction in treatment discontinuation, at 5.97 percentage points. Similar patterns were observed among people receiving opioid agonist treatment for the first time.

The findings are based on more than 41,000 adults receiving opioid . . .