The impact of methamphetamine use on medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) treatment retention: a scoping review

TY - JOUR

T1 - The impact of methamphetamine use on medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) treatment retention: a scoping review

AU - Russell, Cayley

AU - Law, Justine

AU - Imtiaz, Sameer

AU - Rehm, Jürgen

AU - Le Foll, Bernard

AU - Ali, Farihah

N1 - © 2023. Evans Medical Foundation, Inc. and BioMed Central Ltd.

PY - 2023/8/16

Y1 - 2023/8/16

N2 - BACKGROUND: An emerging public health threat of methamphetamine/opioid co-use is occurring in North America, including increases in overdoses related to concomitant methamphetamine/opioid use. This presents a potential risk to established treatments for opioid use disorder (i.e., medications for opioid use disorder [MOUD]). To date, few studies have examined the impact of methamphetamine use on MOUD-related outcomes, and no studies have synthesized data on MOUD retention.METHODS: A scoping review was undertaken to examine the impact of methamphetamine use on MOUD retention. All original published research articles were searched in Embase, MEDLINE, PsychINFO, CINAHL, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Cochrane Protocols, and Google scholar databases. Data were extracted into a standardized data extraction chart. Findings were presented narratively.RESULTS: All eight included studies demonstrated an increased likelihood of treatment discontinuation or dropout among patients enrolled in MOUD who used methamphetamine. The frequency of methamphetamine use was also associated with MOUD dropout, in that those who used methamphetamine more often were more likely to discontinue MOUD. The definitions and measurements of MOUD retention varied considerably, as did the magnitude of effect size.CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that methamphetamine use has an undesirable impact on MOUD retention and results in an increased risk of treatment discontinuation or dropout. Strategies to identify concurrent methamphetamine use among individuals engaging in MOUD and educate them on the increased risk for dropout should be undertaken. Further research is needed to understand how MOUD retention among patients with concomitant opioid and methamphetamine use can be improved.

AB - BACKGROUND: An emerging public health threat of methamphetamine/opioid co-use is occurring in North America, including increases in overdoses related to concomitant methamphetamine/opioid use. This presents a potential risk to established treatments for opioid use disorder (i.e., medications for opioid use disorder [MOUD]). To date, few studies have examined the impact of methamphetamine use on MOUD-related outcomes, and no studies have synthesized data on MOUD retention.METHODS: A scoping review was undertaken to examine the impact of methamphetamine use on MOUD retention. All original published research articles were searched in Embase, MEDLINE, PsychINFO, CINAHL, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Cochrane Protocols, and Google scholar databases. Data were extracted into a standardized data extraction chart. Findings were presented narratively.RESULTS: All eight included studies demonstrated an increased likelihood of treatment discontinuation or dropout among patients enrolled in MOUD who used methamphetamine. The frequency of methamphetamine use was also associated with MOUD dropout, in that those who used methamphetamine more often were more likely to discontinue MOUD. The definitions and measurements of MOUD retention varied considerably, as did the magnitude of effect size.CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that methamphetamine use has an undesirable impact on MOUD retention and results in an increased risk of treatment discontinuation or dropout. Strategies to identify concurrent methamphetamine use among individuals engaging in MOUD and educate them on the increased risk for dropout should be undertaken. Further research is needed to understand how MOUD retention among patients with concomitant opioid and methamphetamine use can be improved.

KW - Humans

KW - Analgesics, Opioid

KW - Systematic Reviews as Topic

KW - Drug Overdose/epidemiology

KW - Opioid-Related Disorders/drug therapy

KW - Methamphetamine/adverse effects

U2 - 10.1186/s13722-023-00402-0

DO - 10.1186/s13722-023-00402-0

M3 - SCORING: Review article

C2 - 37587456

VL - 18

SP - 48

JO - ADDICT SCI CLIN PRAC

JF - ADDICT SCI CLIN PRAC

SN - 1940-0640

IS - 1

ER -