Using Client's Routine Urinalysis Records From Multiple Treatment Systems to Model Five-Year Opioid Substitution Treatment Outcomes

ABSTRACTBackground: At global, national, and local level, the need for ongoing, timely and cost efficient, comprehensive drug treatment monitoring, and evaluation systems have clearly been well recognized. Objectives: To test the feasibility of linking laboratory data and client intake data and its usefulness for modeling retrospectively, for the first time, 5-year longitudinal drug treatment outcomes in an Irish opiate treatment setting. Methods: A multisite, retrospective, longitudinal cohort study was implemented to evaluate outcomes for opiate users based on 1.7 million routine urinalysis results collected from 4,518 individuals presenting for opioid substitution treatment in Ireland from January 2006 to December 2010. Results: Analysis of opiates, cocaine, benzodiazepine, and cannabis use at treatment intake, 6 months and at 1–5 year follow-ups revealed differences in urinalysis protocols; significant differences in age of first drug use between those using and not using opiates at 5 years; significa...