This service updates you with developments at the DRUG AND ALCOHOL FINDINGS web site
http://findings.org.uk.
ISSUE 10 of the DRUG AND ALCOHOL FINDINGS magazine first published in 2004 is now available free of
charge as downloadable PDFs (Adobe Acrobat files). This final message introduces you to some of the
remaining nine briefer items in the issue. To see them all click this link:
http://findings.org.uk/issuesResults.php5?issueChoice=issue+10
or the BROWSE MAGAZINE link on the home page.
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PATIENTS CAN BE MATCHED - BUT TO THERAPEUTIC STYLES, NOT THERAPIES
US studies which suggested that negative results from previous attempts to match patients to
therapies were due to looking in the wrong direction - at the 'brand' of therapy rather than how it
is delivered. Click the Latest FINDINGS button in the PDF for 'My Way or Yours?', our review
focusing on this issue.
Choose CLUES ON TO HOW TO MATCH... from the issue 10 listing or go direct to:
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=nugg_10_1.pdf
GPs - DO THEY REALLY DO METHADONE MAINTENANCE BETTER THAN SPECIALIST CLINICS?
That's the conclusion suggested by this analysis from the national English NTORS study. When results
from clinics were compared with those from experienced/supported GPs, where there were differences
(as in retention, non-opiate drug use and psychological health), they favoured the GPs.
Choose BRITISH GPs AS EFFECTIVE... from the issue 10 listing or go direct to:
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=nugg_10_3.pdf
GAINS FROM RAPID OPIATE WITHDRAWAL QUICKLY FADE
Three studies from three different continents with the same message: rapid withdrawal methods (under
anaesthesia or sedation) do mean more patients start treatment to keep them opiate free, but then
more relapse, so the gains in comparison to conventional methods rapidly diminish.
Choose RAPID DETOXIFICATION... from the issue 10 listing or go direct to:
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=nugg_10_4.pdf
CARE AND GOOD ORGANISATION HELP KEEP PATIENTS SAFE AFTER THEY LEAVE
In this impressive set of studies, a US service systematically implemented a series of inexpensive
or cost-free initiatives which cumulated to transform a dire aftercare attendance record into an
enviable one. Click the Latest FINDINGS button in the PDF for (first entry in the drop-down list)
the latest studies in the series.
Choose HOW TO TRANSFORM A POOR AFTERCARE ATTENDANCE RECORD... from the issue 10 listing or go direct
to:
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=nugg_10_5.pdf
HOW MUCH MORE WILL TAKE TO CONTROL HEPATITIS C THAN HIV?
You probably knew it was more difficult to stop hepatitis C spreading than HIV, but did you know how
much more? This Australian study did the calculations: to control hepatitis C we need to reduce the
risk from sharing injecting equipment to a fraction of the level at which HIV is controlled.
Choose STUDY QUANTIFIES HOW MUCH MORE IT WILL TAKE... from the issue 10 listing or go direct to:
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=off_10_2.pdf
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Further information from [log in to unmask] or by replying to this e-mail. FINDINGS is managed
by DrugScope, Alcohol Concern and the National Addiction Centre, the two leading UK drug and alcohol
information charities and the UK's leading clinical/research centre. The Effectiveness Bank project
is supported by the J. Paul Getty Jr. Charitable Trust (http://www.jpgettytrust.org.uk) and the
Pilgrim Trust (http://www.thepilgrimtrust.org.uk).
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