FACTORS AFFECTING NON-RETENTION IN METHADONE MAINTENANCE TREATMENT: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY IN CURE AND CARE CENTRE CHOW KIT, MALAYSIA

Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) is a national harm reduction program in Malaysia that prevents opioids withdrawal, reduces cravings, and aids in the drug abuser's recovery. Treatment retention is used as a measure of MMT effectiveness. However, it is often associated with many factors that cause premature termination. Our study aimed to analyze the percentage of loss to follow-up patients receiving MMT in the Cure and Care Service Centre (Chow Kit, Malaysia) and identify the factors that affected treatment non-retention. Data collection was obtained from 335 medical profiles of patients to assess the percentage of non-retention and analyze the factors associated with involuntary and voluntary termination. Data analysis was carried out using SSPS version 24 and Microsoft Excel 2011. Majority of the patients were male (n=141), aged between 41 and 60 years old (n = 93) and Malay (n=112). Our findings demonstrated a high percentage of non-retention among MMT patients, where 50.7% and 48% of the factors had caused involuntary and voluntary premature termination, respectively. Involuntary termination from treatment was mainly due to patients getting imprisoned because of recidivism (n=49, 32.2%). Furthermore, there were patients who opted for terminating methadone early due to lack of commitment towards the program (n=35, 23%) and continuing to take opioids 17.8% (n=27, 17.8%). Many other patients were either deceased or expelled from the program due to aggressive behavior. It was shown that non-retention could be affected by many factors and our findings could pave the way towards making improvements to current practice.