Heroin and the opiates

Le résumé fourni par la source

The term relapse is used in a number of ways in the drug dependence literature. It has been taken to refer to any drug use following a period of abstinence and it has also been used to mean a return to pre-treatment levels of morbidity. The first usage is overinclusive and, as argued later in this chapter, gives an unduly pessimistic impression of the outcome following treatment. According to this usage, an individual who uses once following a period of abstinence would be regarded as having relapsed, as would an individual who returned to daily use. The second usage is also unsatisfactory. There are multiple dimensions on which a drug abuser may improve or deteriorate, such as drug dose, number of type of drugs, frequency of drug taking, route of ingestion, social adjustment, work performance, and criminal involvement. It therefore seems appropriate, when considering outcome in a comprehensive way, to examine a number of dimensions, bearing in mind that there are degrees of improvement or deterioration in each.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.