2081 – Treatment Of Opiate Addicts With Maintaining Substitution Method Of Buprenorphine/naloxone (suboxone) At The Department Of Psychiatry, Clinical Center Tuzla

Abstract

At the Department of Psychiatry in Tuzla since 29th July 2009 began the treatment program for opiate addicts using buprenorphine/naloxone (Suboxone). The treatment program is organized in Social Psychiatry Unit of Department of Psychiatry as an outpatient program. As the area around Tuzla Canton has no specialized institution for the treatment of opiate addicts and addicts of other psychoactive substances, the process of treatment of these patients is performed as parallel with treatment of all other psychiatric patients and in the rooms of the Department that is primarily intended for the treatment of psychiatric patients. The trained team is engaged in this program, we developed our own, authentic model of treatment based on the latest doctrinal principles. Three years of experiences points to some advantages but also the disadvantages of treating these patients at the Department of Psychiatry. Comorbid psychiatric disorder is treating simultaneosly with drug dependency as chronic relapsing brain disease, because the drug addiction is often associated with other psychiatric disorders. Some addicts are more reluctant to come to treatment because of the stigma of a psychiatric institution. So far, the 158 drug addicts were introduced in the treatment of opiate dependency. This is to show the whole process of treatment of opiate addicts, patient selection, the introduction into the treatment, the course of treatment and the end of a guided contemporary doctrinal principles and postulates of the profession.