RESUMO
Recent studies have shown that the knowledge of pharmacological interaction databases in global psychiatry is negligible. The frequency of hospitalizations in the case of patients taking new psychoactive substances along with other drugs continues to increase, very often resulting in the need for polypharmacotherapy. The aim of our research was to make members of the worldwide psychiatric community aware of the need to use a pharmacological interaction database in their daily work. The study involved 2146 psychiatrists from around the world. Participants were primarily contacted through the LinkedIn Recruiter website. The surveyed psychiatrists answered 5 questions concerning case reports of patients taking new psychoactive substances along with other drugs. The questions were answered twice, i.e., before and after using the Medscape drug interaction database. The mean percentage of correct answers given by the group of psychiatrists who were studied separately in six individual continents turned out to be statistically significantly higher after using the pharmacological interaction database (p < 0.001). This also applies to providing correct answers separately, i.e., to each of the five questions asked concerning individual case reports (p < 0.001). Before using the drug interaction database, only 14.1% of psychiatrists stated that they knew and used this type of database (p < 0.001). In the second stage of the study, a statistically significant majority of subjects stated that they were interested in using the pharmacological interaction database from that moment on (p < 0.001) and expressed the opinion that it could be effective in everyday work (p < 0.001). Using a pharmacological interaction database in psychiatry can contribute to the effectiveness of pharmacotherapy.
RESUMO
Objectives: The purpose of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of the methadone programme in a group of patients taking mephedrone with heroin.Methods: The research involved 230 people who took part in the methadone programme between 2010 and 2019: 101 people on a mephedrone binge and taking heroin and 129 people addicted to heroin.Results: Number of re-hospitalisations was higher in a group of patients on a mephedrone binge taking heroin in comparison to heroin dependent patients (91.9 vs 79.8%, p < 0.01). The interaction of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with the dose of methadone taken explains 67.6% of the variance in the frequency of hospitalisation of the patients on a mephedrone binge (p < 0.001), and in the case of the dose of methadone alone - only 12% (p < 0.001). Regression analysis indicated that statistically significant majority of the subjects (p < 0.001) who received the optimal dose of methadone, namely 100-110 ml, were hospitalised once.Conclusions: The interaction of the methadone dose with HCV infection plays a very important role in the frequency of hospitalisation of patients taking mephedrone with heroin on a regular basis.KEY POINTSThe number of hospitalisations was higher in a group of patients on a mephedrone binge taking heroin in comparison to heroin dependent patientsThe interaction of the sex of the subjects and HCV infection with the dose of methadone taken explains 80.3 and 67.6% of variance in the frequency of hospitalisations, respectivelyThe most optimal dose of methadone in the group of people taking mephedrone with heroin ranges between 100 and 110 ml.