The British Journal of Psychiatry 144: 203-208 (1984)
© 1984 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
The clinical effectiveness of electrostimulation vs oral methadone in managing opiate withdrawal
M Gossop, B Bradley, J Strang and P Connell
A group of 24 opiate addicts admitted to an in-patient drug dependence unit
received either electrostimulation or graduated oral methadone withdrawal.
Addicts treated with electrostimulation showed high levels of withdrawal
symptoms during the first week of treatment: these reached a peak on Day 3.
In this respect electrostimulation was markedly inferior to methadone
withdrawal treatment. However, although progressive methadone withdrawal
quickly reduced symptoms to a moderate or low level, there was no reduction
in symptomatology as late as one month after admission (i.e. after ten days
without methadone). The implications of these findings are discussed.