Methadyl acetate and methadone. An open comparison
E. C. Senay, W. Dorus and P. F. Renault
Heroin addicts were recruited for a 14-week open clinical comparison of
methadone hydrochloride and methadyl acetate. Patients were randomly
assigned to a methadyl acetate clinic in which methadyl acetate was
dispensed to patients three times per week or to a methadone clinic in
which methadone was dispensed six days per week. No statistically
significant differences were observed between groups in retention rates,
illicit drug use, employment rates, or arrest rates. The group treated with
methadyl acetate had more dropouts in the first seven weeks than the second
seven weeks: this pattern was reversed for the methadone-treated group. The
differences were significant (P = .01). Spontaneously reported symptoms
suggest that induction with methadyl acetate may be a more clinically
variable phenomenon than induction with methadone. The reduction of number
of clinic visits in the group treated with methadyl acetate was not a
source of variance in treatment effectiveness.
