TADAM Belgian Heroin-Assisted Treatment: Patients’ characteristics

Did the Belgian heroin-assisted treatment, TADAM, included the expected target group of severe heroin addicts?
Background: TADAM is a randomised controlled trial comparing heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) to existing methadone maintenance treatment. This trial began in Belgium in January 2011 in the city of Liège. The inclusion phase ends January 16th, 2012 and the experimental treatment in 2013. It was developed in order to treat severe heroin addicts. We will examine if the Belgian HAT trial included the target group as the other HAT trials.
Methodology: In this open-label randomised controlled trial, each patient must fulfil inclusion criteria before entering the trial and must sign an informed consent form. By randomisation, the patient is allocated either to the experimental group (HAT) or to the control group (methadone maintenance treatment in existing centres). The patients were interviewed at baseline (and every three months) with standardised instruments such as EuropASI, MAP-HSS and SCL-90-R.
Results: 74 patients were included and randomised between the two groups. A typical patient is over 40 years old, has been taking heroin for 20 years and methadone for 15 years. He is male, Belgian, long-term unemployed, with physical, mental and/or social problems.
Conclusion: Patients are older and slightly more severe addicted than in other HAT trials.