Consequences of prolonged diacetylmorphine (DAM; pharmaceutical heroin) take home for individuals with severe opioid use disorder

Prolonged DAM take home in the time of Covid-19 - harm reduction or increase? Results of a retrospective chart review

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN14339586

Enrollment

185

Registered

2023-06-14

Start date

2021-06-15

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2024-05-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Effects of prolonged DAM take home in patients with diacetylmorphine as opioid agonist therapy. Not Applicable

Interventions

A retrospective analysis of medical records was conducted at the Arud Centre for Addiction Medicine in Zurich, Switzerland. This outpatient center is the largest provider of Opioid Agonist Treatment (

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: We included all patients that received oral DAM and were assessed to stable by their therapist and qualified accordingly for a prolonged take home of seven days. In addition, the patients had to have been on oral DAM since at least March 19th, 2019 with no treatment interruptions until March 18th, 2021.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Only injectable DAM 2. Missing informed consent 3. Interruption of DAM during observation period

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Measured during the two time periods by retrospective chart review: 1. DAM dose 2. Number of antibiotic therapies 3. Number of emergency hospitalisations 4. Number of incarcerations	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Measured during the two time periods by retrospective chart review: 1. Age 2. Gender 3. Additional daily medication 4. Injectable DAM	—

Countries

Switzerland

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026