Does HIV serostatus affect outcomes of dually diagnosed opiate dependents in residential treatment?

Abstract

SummaryBackgroung– Little is known about specific treatment needs of mentally ill clients abusing substances and infected by HIV. The major gap concerns residential programmes.Aims– To explore differences in outcomes between seropositive and seronegative dually diagnosed opiate dependent clients who participated in a residential therapy programme.Methods– Data were gathered on 154 clients treated in a therapeutic community in Milan between October 1999 and September 2004. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were used to study the association between HIV serostatus and outcome.Results– At 12-month follow-up, seropositive clients were more likely to relapse.Conclusions– The impact of HIV seropositivity on behavioural outcomes should be taken into consideration when planning residential programmes for the HIV (+) dually diagnosed population. Further research could test the need of incorporating dedicated treatments into existing programmes.Declaration of interest: None.