Prediction of Efficacy of Inpatient Treatment in Metamphetamine Dependence

Summary

Dependence on metamphetamine (pervitine) represents a serious medical and social problem in the Czech Republic. The estimated number of metamphetamine abusers is 22 000. The issue of a prediction of efficacy of an inpatient treatment in metamphetamine dependence is not described sufficiently in the literature. The goal of our study was to assess, whether the examination of the patient’s personality and complex problems brought by the substance abuse may predict a success of the inpatient treatment in a one-year follow-up. Forty-one patients (women N = 12) at the average age of 24.0 ± 3.9 years who have abused metamphetamine for 5.9 years on the average, hospitalized in the Hospital for Treatment of Substance Dependence in Nechanice in the period from September 1, 2002 to March 31, 2003 were the study subjects. We examined the patients using the TCI personality questionnaire and the EuropASI questionnaire during the first month of the hospitalization. We assessed the abstinence of the study subjects by mail one year after they had been discharged from the hospital. Sixteen patients (women N = 8) which represent 39 % of the total study population proclaimed to have completely abstained from metamphetamine. The abstaining patients scored significantly higher in the cooperativeness dimension of the TCI questionnaire (28.8 ± 6.7 vs 24.3 ± 6.9, p = 0.04, t-test) and the total of problems due to substance abuse according to the EuropASI questionnaire (31.1 ± 6.6 vs 25.9 ± 8.1, p = 0.04, Mann-Whitney test) as compared with the subjects who continued to abuse metamphetamine. This means that a patient with good social skills, and a sufficient motivation to abstain may achieve good treatment results. The motivation may be based on problems, associated with the substance abuse.

Key words:
metamphetamine, dependence, treatment, prediction, personality, problems.