A NATURALISTIC STUDY OF HOME DETOXIFICATION FROM OPIATES USING LOFEXIDINE

The study describes the outcome of home detoxification from opiates us ing lofexidine, a centrally-acting alpha(2)-adrenergic agonist, in a c onsecutive series of 28 unselected individuals. Eleven detoxifications (39%) were successful and 17 (61%) unsuccessful. No major medical or psychological problems were reported. Successful outcome was associate d with not using heroin, good compliance with a methadone programme an d prediction of success by the key worker. Home detoxification using l ofexidine appears to be a useful treatment for some opiate-dependent i ndividuals, and is most likely to be successful in those individuals w hose drug use is already well-controlled.