Effectiveness of medication-assisted therapy in Malaysia. A systematic review and meta-analysis after a decade

• Main Authors: Musa, Ramli, Yee, Anne
• Format: Article
• Published: Pacini Editore 2021
• Subjects: R Medicine
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/26909/

Background: Medication-assisted therapy especially, Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT), has been shown worldwide to have the strength as a treatment option for opioid dependence. Aim: This paper aimed to produce concrete evidence on the effectiveness of MMT in Malaysia. Methods: To systematically review and quantitatively analyse the effectiveness of MMT in Malaysia, the authors searched using main keywords of `effectiveness Methadone in Malaysia' through Google Scholar, EMBASE, PubMed, and Ovid. Results: A total of 41 articles were retrieved from the search and we analysed 16 articles related to the topic. The duplicate title, abstract, and full-text were cleared. Most studies show MMT is effective in improving the quality of life of subjects, reduction in high risk behaviours, improvement of employment rate and it is cost-effective as compared to other options. Conclusions: MMT shows tangible evidence of effectiveness in various aspects including primary and secondary outcomes.