Table 1.
Characteristics of patients who received opioid agonist treatment from the Canadian Addiction Treatment Center in Ontario, Canada, 2014–2020
| Less than 90 days | 90 to 365 days | One to two years | Over two years | Overall | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n = 6087 (18.73%) | n = 7247 (22.31%) | n = 5413 (40.13%) | n = 13,740 (42.49%) | N = 32,487 | ||
| Gender | ||||||
| F n (%) | 2227 (36.60) | 27,07 (37.40) | 2080 (38.40) | 5485 (39.90) | 12,499 (38.50) | <.001 |
| M | 3833 (63.00) | 4535 (62.50) | 3331 (61.50) | 8255 (60.10) | 19,949 (61.40) | |
| Missing | 27 (0.40) | 10 (0.10) | 2 (0%) | 0 | 41 (0.10) | |
| Age | ||||||
| Mean (SD) | 34.40 (10.50) | 35.00 (10.51) | 35.50 (10.80) | 36.50 (10.72) | 35.60 (10.70) | |
| Age Groups | <.001 | |||||
| < 25 | 1247 (20.50) | 1318 (18.20) | 1022 (18.90) | 2116 (15.40) | 5703 (17.60) | |
| 25–45 | 3855 (63.30) | 4725 (65.20) | 3384 (62.50) | 8591 (62.50) | 20,653 (63.20) | |
| 46–65 | 949 (15.60) | 1147 (15.80) | 970 (17.90) | 2980 (21.70) | 6046 (18.70) | |
| 65+ | 36 (0.60) | 57 (0.80) | 37 (0.70) | 53 (0.40) | 183 (0.60) | |
| Starting medication (mg) | <.001 | |||||
| Methadone | 4101 (67.40) | 5171 (71.40) | 4222 (78.00) | 11,724 (85.30) | 25,218 (77.60) | |
| Buprenorphine/naloxone | 1986 (32.60) | 2077 (28.60) | 1191 (22.00) | 2016 (14.70) | 7269 (22.40) | |
| Location of residence | <.001 | |||||
| Northern/rural | 183 (3.00) | 310 (4.30) | 235 (4.30) | 675 (4.90) | 1403 (4.30) | |
| Northern/urban | 9,46 (15.50) | 1275 (17.60) | 915 (16.90) | 2685 (19.50) | 5821 (17.90) | |
| Sothern/rural | 171 (2.80) | 213 (2.90) | 196 (3.60) | 525 (3.80) | 1101 (3.40) | |
| Southern/urban | 4787 (78.760) | 5449 (75.20) | 4067 (75.10) | 9855 (71.70) | 24,158 (74.40) | |
| No. of Treatment Attempts | ||||||
| Mean (SD) | 1.87 (2.03) | 2.67 (3.08) | 2.67 (2.92) | 1.86 (1.77) | 2.17 (2.40) | <.001 |
| Average Monthly Urine Drugs Screening (UDS) | ||||||
| Mean (SD) | 5.24 (2.59) | 6.70 (1.93) | 6.42 (1.71) | 5.91 (1.54) | 6.05 (1.96) | <.001 |
| Stimulant UDS positive groups (n%) | <.001 | |||||
| 0–25% | 4373 (71.80) | 5438 (75.00) | 4323 (79.90) | 11,749 (85.50) | 25,883 (79.70) | |
| 26–50% | 286 (4.70) | 582 (8.00) | 397 (7.30) | 835 (6.10) | 2100 (6.50) | |
| 51–75% | 432 (7.10) | 482 (6.70) | 307 (5.70) | 538 (3.90) | 1759 (5.40) | |
| 76–100% | 996 (16.40) | 745 (10.30) | 386 (7.10) | 618 (4.50) | 2745 (8.40) | |
| Fentanyl UDS positive groups (n%) | <.001 | |||||
| 0–25% | 4368 (71.80) | 5366 (74.10) | 4293 (79.30) | 12,101 (88.10) | 26,128 (80.40) | |
| 26–50% | 218 (3.60) | 578 (8.00) | 481 (8.90) | 890 (6.50) | 2167 (6.70) | |
| 51–75% | 440 (7.20) | 572 (7.90) | 323 (6.00) | 476 (3.50) | 1811 (5.60) | |
| 76–100% | 1061 (17.40) | 731 (10.10) | 316 (5.80) | 273 (2.00) | 2381 (7.30) | |
| Cocaine UDS positive groups (n%) | <.001 | |||||
| 0–25% | 3246 (53.30) | 4179 (57.70) | 3562 (65.80) | 10,163 (74.00) | 21,149 (65.10) | |
| 26–50% | 684 (11.20) | 794 (14.70) | 794 (14.70) | 1765 (12.80) | 4358 (13.30) | |
| 51–75% | 712 (11.70) | 849 (11.70) | 525 (9.70) | 943 (6.90) | 3029 (9.30) | |
| 76–100% | 1445 (23.70) | 1106 (15.03) | 533 (9.80) | 869 (6.30) | 3953 (12.20) | |
| Cannabis UDS positive groups (n%) | <.001 | |||||
| 0–25% | 4709 (77.40) | 3983 (55.00) | 2455 (45.40) | 5690 (4.40) | 25,883 (79.70) | |
| 26–50% | 78 (1.30) | 377 (5.20) | 413 (7.60) | 1275 (9.30) | 2100 (6.50) | |
| 51–75% | 202 (3.30) | 496 (6.80) | 417 (5.70) | 1114 (8.10) | 1759 (5.40) | |
| 76–100% | 1098 (18.00) | 2391 (33.00) | 2128 (39.30) | 5665 (41.20) | 2745 (8.40) | |
| Other Opioids UDS positive groups (n%) | <.001 | |||||
| 0–25% | 3261 (53.60) | 5042 (69.60) | 4287 (79.20) | 11,889 (86.50) | 24,479 (75.40) | |
| 26–50% | 1136 (18.70) | 1330 (18.30) | 787 (14.50) | 1373 (10.00) | 4626 (14.20) | |
| 51–75% | 894 (14.70) | 643 (8.00) | 262 (4.80) | 396 (2.90) | 2206 (6.80) | |
| 76–100% | 796 (13.10) | 232 (3.20) | 77 (1.40) | 82 (0.60) | 1187 (3.70) | |
| Starting BUP Dose (mg) | ||||||
| Mean (SD) | 7.71 (7.91) | 9.93 (13.50) | 12.4 (18.30) | 15.4 (21.48) | 11.8 (16.88) | <.001 |
| Peak BUP dose (mg) | ||||||
| Mean (SD) | 12.6 (10.10) | 19.4 (32.55) | 22.5 (21.41) | 26.1 (23.90) | 20.7 (24.50) | <.001 |
| Starting Methadone dose (mg) | ||||||
| Mean (SD) | 33.3 (26.50) | 39.9 (123) | 43 (44.40) | 57.7 (41.90) | 47.4 (91.7) | <.001 |
| Peak Methadone Dose (mg) | ||||||
| Mean (SD) | 51.6 (55.2) | 86.5 (285) | 99 (304) | 119 (369) | 97.5 (309) | <.001 |
| Start dose above-median peak dose (mg) | ||||||
| Mean (SD) | 0.22 (0.41) | 0.33 (0.47) | 0.41 (0.49) | 0.56 (0.49) | 0.42 (0.49) | <.001 |
| Peak dose above-median peak dose (mg) | ||||||
| Mean (SD) | 0.08 (0.27) | 0.13 (0.33) | 0.17 (0.38) | 0.29 (0.45) | 0.20 (0.40) | <.001 |
Abbreviations in the table: aSD Standard deviation, UDS Urine Drug Screening, BUP Buprenorphine