Comparison of the effect of naltrexone with or without fluoxetine for preventing relapse to opioid addiction

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant professor of community medicine, Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

2 Assistant professor of community medicine, Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

10.22038/JFMH.2024.81751.3151

Abstract

Introduction: Regarding the probable effectiveness of adding fluoxetine to a medical regimen of opioid treatment, the present study aimed to compare the effect of naltrexone with or without fluoxetine to prevent relapse to opioid addiction.
 
Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study in 2016, 93 people with an opium addiction who were detoxified in Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad, Iran, were selected using a purposeful sampling method. They were randomly divided into two groups (naltrexone and naltrexone + fluoxetine). The morphine urine test was performed at the end of the 1st month, 2nd month, 3rd month, 4th month, and more than 4 months after detoxification. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, Fisher's exact test, Pearson chi-square, Independent samples t-test, Mann-Whitney test, and SPSS software.
 
Results: Finally, 73 patients (39 patients in the naltrexone group and 34 patients in the naltrexone + fluoxetine group) were evaluated. The two groups had no significant demographic variable differences except marital status. The findings showed no significant difference in the relapse rate between the two groups, although a lower rate of relapse was seen in the naltrexone + fluoxetine group than in the naltrexone group (P= 0.563). At the same time, the naltrexone + fluoxetine group had more positive morphine urine tests in the early months than the naltrexone group significantly (P= 0.040).
 
Conclusion: The present study showed that adding fluoxetine to naltrexone reduces the relapse rate, while it is associated with a shorter duration of retention than the naltrexone group.

Keywords


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