Naltrexone Therapy and Relapse Rates of Opioid Dependent Individuals

Abstract

Introduction: Drug addiction and drug dependency are major problem in the “mental”,”social”, and “health-care” fields. It decreases occupational performance and educational abilities in different social groups, and may lead to miscellaneous crimes. Different methods are recommended for drug addiction treatments. Detoxification is the first step however it would not be successful without follow up and vigorous maintenance therapy. Naltrexone introduced as an opium antagonist to decrease desire for opiates and is used for maintenance therapy of drug treatments in Kermanshah Rehabilitation and Therapy Center since 2001. This study aimed to determine the relapse rates of drug addict patients under maintenance therapy by Naltrexone after 18 months follow up.