Urine drug test crucial to curb opioid use disorder

Washington DC: Urine drug testing can be a useful tool to treat patients with opioid use disorder in a primary care setting, suggests a new study. A urine drug test, also known as a urine drug screen or a UDS, is the analysis of an individual's urine for the presence of certain illegal drugs and prescription medications. The study, which was conducted by researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine, revealed that patients are less likely to disclose drug use earlier in treatment, and although the study was not able to identify reasons for this, the authors believe that it may be related to fear of discharge from a treatment program and stigma related to relapse.
The findings of the study are published in the Journal of Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Office-based addiction treatment has become a key strategy in combating the opioid epidemic, where patients get treatment for their disease in a primary care setting with close monitoring during their recovery. However, one of the questions in the current practice of is how best to monitor for illicit substance use, especially when patients do not report it. There has also been a lack of data regarding how frequently patients in these programs report substance use compared to finding a positive result by urine drug testing (UDT).