Faculty Bibliography

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of feedback provided to counselors on the outcomes of patients treated at community-based substance abuse treatment programs. A version of the Outcome Questionnaire (OQ-45), adapted to include drug and alcohol use, was administered to patients (N = 304) in 3 substance abuse treatment clinics. Phase I of the study consisted only of administration of the assessment instruments. Phase II consisted of providing feedback reports to counselors based on the adapted OQ-45 at every treatment session up to Session 12. Patients who were found to not be progressing at an expectable rate (i.e., "offtrack") were administered a questionnaire that was used as a second feedback report for counselors. For offtrack patients, feedback compared with no feedback led to significant linear reductions in alcohol use throughout treatment and also in OQ-45 total scores and drug use from the point of the second feedback instrument to Session 12. The effect for improving mental health functioning was evident at only 1 of the 3 clinics. These results suggest that a feedback system adapted to the treatment of substance use problems is a promising approach that should be tested in a larger randomized trial.

ABSTRACT Primary care is understudied as a reentry drug and alcohol treatment setting. This study compared treatment retention and opioid misuse among opioid-dependent adults seeking buprenorphine/naloxone maintenance in an urban primary care clinic following release from jail versus community referrals. Postrelease patients were either (a) induced to buprenorphine in-jail as part of a clinical trial, or (b) seeking buprenorphine induction post release. From 2007 to 2008, N = 142 patients were new to primary care buprenorphine: n = 32 postrelease; n = 110 induced after community referral and without recent incarceration. Jail-released patients were more likely African American or Hispanic and uninsured. Treatment retention rates for postrelease (37%) versus community (30%) referrals were similar at 48 weeks. Rates of opioid positive urines and self-reported opioid misuse were also similar between groups. Postrelease patients in primary care buprenorphine treatment had equal treatment retention and rates of opioid abstinence versus community-referred patients

Background: Predictors of smoking cessation (SC) treatment outcome were explored in a multisite clinical trial of SC treatment at community-based, outpatient, substance abuse rehabilitation programs affiliated with the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network. Objectives: To explore baseline demographic and clinical predictors of abstinence during treatment. Methods: Cigarette smokers from five methadone maintenance programs and two drug and alcohol dependence treatment programs were randomly assigned to SC treatment as an adjunct to substance abuse treatment as usual or to substance abuse treatment as usual. SC treatment consisted of group counseling (weeks 1-8) plus transdermal nicotine patch treatment (21 mg/day, weeks 1-6; 14 mg/day, weeks 7-8). Demographic and clinical predictors of smoking abstinence were evaluated among those patients assigned to the active SC condition (N = 153) using logistic regression. Results: Abstinence during treatment was positively associated with younger age, Hispanic or Caucasian (as opposed to African American) ethnicity/race, employment or student status, fewer cigarettes per day at baseline, lower severity of the primary substance problem at baseline, and higher methadone doses (among the subsample in methadone treatment). Conclusions and Scientific Significance: During future efforts to improve SC treatments among drug- and alcohol-dependent patients, consideration should be given to adequate treatment to reduce the severity of the primary drug or alcohol problem, tailoring treatments for patients with greater severity of smoking and of the primary substance problem, and culturally sensitive interventions. Analysis of predictors of outcome may be a useful tool for treatment development

We explored patient, therapist, and program variability in the alliance in relation to drug and alcohol use during treatment, and whether alliance mediates the relation of program characteristics to drug/alcohol use. Data (N = 1,613 patients) were drawn from a randomized clinical trial investigating the efficacy of an intervention that provided alliance and outcome feedback to 112 counselors across 20 community-based outpatient substance abuse treatment clinics in the northeast United States. Program characteristics were measured using the Organization Readiness for Change scale. Using multilevel modeling, we found that alliance was related to both drug and alcohol use during the past week at the patient and program levels of analysis, but not the counselor level. Several program characteristics were related to average drug and alcohol use. The alliance was not a mediator of these relationships. Program variability in the alliance is important to the alliance-outcome relationship in the treatment of substance abuse. Better outcomes can be achieved by improving both organizational functioning and the patient-counselor alliance

BACKGROUND: Models of cocaine addiction emphasize the role of disrupted frontal circuitry supporting cognitive control processes. However, addiction-related alterations in functional interactions among brain regions, especially between the cerebral hemispheres, are rarely examined directly. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) approaches, which reveal patterns of coherent spontaneous fluctuations in the fMRI signal, offer a means to quantify directly functional interactions between the hemispheres. We examined interhemispheric resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) in cocaine dependence using a recently validated approach, voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity. METHODS: We compared interhemispheric RSFC between 25 adults (aged 35.0 +/- 8.8) meeting DSM-IV criteria for cocaine dependence within the past 12 months but currently abstaining (>2 weeks) from cocaine and 24 healthy comparisons (35.1 +/- 7.5), group-matched on age, sex, education, and employment status. RESULTS: We observed reduced prefrontal interhemispheric RSFC in cocaine-dependent participants relative to control subjects. Further analyses demonstrated a striking cocaine-dependence-related reduction in interhemispheric RSFC among nodes of the dorsal attention network, comprising bilateral lateral frontal, medial premotor, and posterior parietal areas. Further, within the cocaine-dependent group, RSFC within the dorsal attention network was associated with self-reported attentional lapses. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide further evidence of an association between chronic exposure to cocaine and disruptions within large-scale brain circuitry supporting cognitive control. We did not detect group differences in diffusion tensor imaging measures, suggesting that alterations in the brain's functional architecture associated with cocaine exposure can be observed in the absence of detectable abnormalities in the white matter microstructure supporting that architecture

We sought to identify barriers to offering services for HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C virus, and sexually transmitted infections in substance abuse treatment programs. We surveyed treatment program administrators and clinicians within the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network to evaluate the availability of medical and non-medical services for patients with or at risk for acquiring these infections. A substantial proportion of programs do not offer services (particularly medical services) for these infections. The most commonly cited barriers were funding, health insurance benefits, patient acceptance, and staff training. The findings highlight a missed opportunity to positively impact these infectious disease epidemics

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Substance use has substantial effects on oral health, and dental visits provide an opportunity to address substance use disorders. We surveyed dentists to learn whether they might play a role in substance use screening and interventions. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: All dentists active in the PEARL dental practice-based research network were invited to complete a web-based survey in summer 2010. The 41-item survey assessed clinic policies and dentists' practices, attitudes, and perception of barriers regarding screening, counseling, and referrals for substance use. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: One hundred forty-three dentists completed the survey (68% response rate). Almost all respondents felt it was important to screen patients for tobacco (99%), alcohol (92%) and illicit drug (93%) use, though actual screening rates were much lower. Counseling or referrals were infrequently provided for users of alcohol (29%) and illicit drugs (25%), but were more common for tobacco (63%). The most frequently identified barrier to addressing substance use was insufficient knowledge/training. Other barriers were lack of referral sites, staff resistance, and time constraints. If reimbursement were available, many dentists said they would offer counseling and assistance for tobacco (67%), alcohol (52%), and illicit drugs (48%); an affirmative response was significantly more likely among the 43 dentists who saw Medicaid patients (p < 0.01). DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Dentists recognize the importance of screening for substance use, but lack the clinical training and systems that might allow them to intervene. If these barriers were reduced, dentists could be willing partners in addressing substance use disorders

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 38(1) of The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse (see record 2012-04990-018). In the obituary of Dr. Malcolm S. Reid, his death date was published as 20 April 2010, but should read 23 April 2010.] Presents an obituary for Malcolm S. Reid, (1962-2010). He passed away after a year-long struggle with leukemia. Malcolm completed his undergraduate work at Brown University in 1984. He began his graduate work in pharmacology at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, leading to a PhD in 1990. Malcolm went on to a post-doctoral fellowship at the Sleep Disorders Research Center at Stanford from 1990 to 1993, and a second fellowship in the NIDA-funded Substance Abuse Treatment Research Program at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF). Malcolm was a dedicated father, who, despite the demands of a research career, always made time for his wife, children, and extended family. Malcolm was also a dedicated teacher and mentor helping shape the careers of members of his research team, many of whom have gone on to get advanced degrees, and undergraduate and medical students. Through to the end, Malcolm remained an indomitable, fun-loving spirit with an infectious exuberance for life. His love of family was matched only by his dogged commitment to his lifelong goal of improving the treatment and care of substance-dependent patients.

This report examines associations between the availability of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related health services in substance abuse treatment programs and characteristics of the programs and the patients they serve. In a cross-sectional, descriptive design and via a validated survey, program administrators within the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network provided information on program characteristics, patient characteristics (rates of risky sexual and drug behaviors and HIV infection), and the availability of 31 different HIV-related health services. Of 319 programs, 84% submitted surveys. Service availability rates ranged from: 10% (pneumococcal vaccination) to 86% (drug testing) for the 6 HIV-related services offered to all patients, 13% (Pap smear for women) to 54% (tuberculin skin testing) for the 6 services offered to new patients, 2% (sterile injection equipment) to 64% (male condoms) for the 4 risk-reduction services, 37% (Pap smear for women) to 61% (tuberculin skin testing) for the 11 biological assessments offered to HIV-positive patients, and 33% (medical treatments) to 52% (counseling) for the 4 other services offered to HIV-positive patients. The availability of these HIV-related services was associated with clinical settings, the types of addiction treatment services, the rates of risky drug and sexual behaviors, and HIV infection rates among patients. Availability of such services was below published guidelines. While the results provide another basis for the infection-related prevention benefits of substance abuse treatment, the variability in the availability of HIV-related health care deserves further study and has health policy implications in determining how to utilize substance abuse treatment in reducing drug-related HIV transmission