ASCME

Methamphetamine (MA) use in Canada is on the rise. In the past decade, drug-related deaths associated with MA use and health service use due to stimulant use have steadily increased across Canada. MA is highly addictive, with symptoms of use disorder manifesting within one week of initial exposure. Long-term use is associated with psychosis, psychotic symptoms, and increased risk of HIV and Hepatitis C transmission and cardiovascular events. There are no treatments for MA use disorder currently approved by Health Canada.

OPTIMIZING PATIENT CENTERED-CARE: A PRAGMATIC RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL COMPARING MODELS OF CARE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PRESCRIPTION OPIOID MISUSE (OPTIMA) 

In response to the overdose crisis and overall suboptimal access to treatment for people with opioid use disorder (OUD), Canadian Research Initiative on Substance Matters (CRISM) launched the OPTIMA trial in 2017, which aimed to support a more flexible adapted approach to opioid agonist therapy by comparing the effectiveness of standard methadone versus flexible BUP/NX models of care in real-life clinical practice settings in individuals with prescription-type OUD (POUD). OPTIMA was a multicenter, open-label, 2-arm, noninferiority, randomized, pragmatic trial involving 272 individuals with PO use disorder that requires agonist therapy; the trial was conducted at seven sites in BC, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.