Prevalence and factors associated with continual opioid use among patients attending methadone clinic at Mwananyamala Hospital, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Trends of continual drug use while under treatment have been reported worldwide. This paper assesses opioid use among patients receiving treatment in a methadone clinic for opioid addiction. A total of 126 urine samples were analyzed using LC–MS/FTMS. About 16% of patients were found to have a high prevalence level of opioids use. Prevalence level was significantly associated with the duration of treatment (p=0.0121) and age (p=0.0328). About 125/126 patients were found to have remnants of opioids of abuse. Therefore, measures should be taken to overcome continual use of opioids among clients.