Clinic Dr. Vorobiev for Drug Abuse And Alcohol Addiction Treatment. /Belgrade./

Statistics of the hospital activities from May 2007 to June 2008.

 Clinic Dr. Vorobiev for Drug Abuse and Alcohol Addiction Treatment was open in Belgrade in May 2007.  Its activities are  approved by the local executive authorities and The Ministry of Health  of the  Republic of Serbia.. Based on the results of  inspection, The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Serbia stipulated  that all necessary conditions for the opening of the hospital (the presence of facilities, equipment, trained personnel, etc.) have been fulfilled. Thus solution of Torgovinsky Court № I Fi 139/07 from 16.05.2007was obtained, which empowered  hospital activities on the territory of the Republic of Serbia. The hospital is registered at the address: Serbia, Belgrade, Zemun Str. Sremski borac 2 E. Activities of the clinic are supervised by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Serbia, by sanitary inspection services  and other agencies. The clinic specializes in treatment of all types of addiction (alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling). Hospital has  12 bed capacity  for in-patient treatment. The clinic staffed with high-qualified physicians, psychiatrists, experts in addiction medicine, anesthesiologists, general practitioners, psychologists and psychotherapists.  The doctor-consultants from Russia take part in diagnostics and treatment process on regular basis . The treatment programs include:

–  diagnostic measures to assess  psychological and somatic status of the patient,

–  detoxification,

–  measures to overcome psychological dependence,

–  pharmacotherapy,

–  individual and group psychotherapy, transpersonal psychotherapy,

–  implantation of opioid receptors blocker. (Naltrexon implant)

After completion of in-patient treatment,  the outpatient phase of treatment with regular monthly check-ups for 1 year is provided. People from different countries search for help at our clinic. Among our patients are citizens  of Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Chroatia, Greece, Germany, Austria, Italy, Norway, USA, Spain.  According to statistics for the period from May 2007 to May 2008 the  following results of hospital activity have been shown.

 Structure of  nosological forms 

 The following  treatment programs  were offered:

 The data concerning  condition of the patients were obtained by interview at the check-up visits, by email surveys  and telephone surveys  of both the patients and their relatives.  All records were obtained  from the  patients remained in terms of their programs. Duration of  the programs and  number of  patients being on  at the time of June 2008.

 The table shows that 20 patients at the time of June 2008 were on  from 9 to  12 month program. 13 patients  participated  in a program for one year and longer.  Among those 33 patients, the 26 ones have never  used psychoactive substances  during the period of participation in the program (it makes 79%),  seven patients  relapsed.  Causes of relapses were a violation of conditions of outpatient treatment, refusals  from renewal of naltrexone implants, deficit of treatment compliance, presence of comorbid mental and  neurological disorders, lack of motivation. In a period of time from May 2007 to June 2008 130 patients passed detoxification and got  protection in form of naltrexone implants at the end of in-hospital treatment. 74 of them renewed implants afterward . According to our survey, 46 patients who were  under naltrexone implant protection didnt use narcotics. It  represents  62% of all the patients received naltrexone implants. This figure indicates a fairly high efficiency of long-acting form of naltrexone in means of drug relapse prevention. Quality of remission was assessed through questionnaire , in which patients were questioned for the presence of signs of pathological craving for drugs: thoughts,  dreams about drugs, desire to use drugs; stability of mental status: the presence of anxiety, depression, sleep disorders and etc.;  social adaptation: having a job or study, circle of communication, recreation activities. Based on the results of the study, the patients were divided into the following groups:

- High quality remission. The criteria for that state were the absence of thoughts, dreams about drugs or desire to use narcotics, improved sleep, appetite, smooth mood, lack of anxiety, non-use of other psychoactive substances,  treatment compliance , the availability of work, study,  new  friends (not the drug users).

-Satisfactory quality remission. State implied general stability of mental condition with periodic short term    onsets of such symptoms as craving for drugs, sleep disorders, mood swings and etc..

- Poor quality remission.  The state of abstinence from the drugs was characterized by presence of strong   desire to use drugs, depression, behavioral disorders, problems with socialization. The patients from this group were offered hospitalization or outpatient  treatment  for stabilization was proposed.

Conclusions: it is a well-known fact  that addiction is a chronic disease  with possiblity of  relapses that leave serious negative imprints on the physical, mental and social status of the patient. Analysis of the effectiveness of treatment carried out by our clinic during the period from May 2007 to May 2008 showed the  high number of the  patients with long term drug remission for up to 12 months (79%) and the high degree of   patient”s  satisfaction  with the results of the treatment  (75% of high quality remission).