COVID-19 pandemic induces severe impact on substances administration and on aspects of psychosocial life of patients under methadone and buprenorphine maintenance treatment

Patients with substance abuse disorders constitute a highly vulnerable group to COVID-19 pandemic due to their compromised health status. Thus, besides the precaution measures for social contact limitation, strategies for reduced personal psychosocial interventions within treatment programs, for decreased acceptance rate of new patients into programs and changes in prescribing and administration of medication-assisted substances with an increase of take-home doses were observed. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on methadone and buprenorphine administration in patients under medication-assisted programs.

In total, 463 patients were divided in two groups, i.e., methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) and buprenorphine maintenance treatment (BMT). The subjects completed the Medication-Assisted Treatment Questionnaire COVID-19. The effects of COVID-19 on medication administration and 6 aspects of psychosocial life, namely mood, substance administration and pandemic measures, sociability, accessibility to therapeutic programs, biopsychosocial support from therapeutic programs and wellness were evaluated. The results were analyzed through Cronbach’s alpha, t-test and Spearman correlation test.

The 39.2% of the participants were residents of an area with high infection risk, 33.4% of them were overweight, 75.2% were taking buprenorphine and 24.8% were under methadone as medication-assisted treatment. A moderate impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mood state was observed in 65% of the participants, 40% referred administration difficulties on increased take-home doses while sociability was affected due to pandemic in 51% of the subjects. Patients under methadone administration exhibited more severe impact of COVID-19 on mood, substance administration, sociability, biopsychosocial support and wellness except for accessibility to treatment programs compared to participants under buprenorphine.

COVID-19 pandemic negatively influenced the medications administration especially by affecting mood, take-home doses administration and sociability. Regarding the two medications, buprenorphine seems more effective in psychosocial status and administration since the effects of COVID-19 on patients under methadone were more severe.