Prognosis
Abrupt withdrawal from stimulants does not require medically supervised withdrawal and many patients can be safely discharged from the emergency department with referral to a drug-counselling centre.
The odds of relapse to drug use are high. In England during 2022 and 2023, around half of people who left a treatment programme for substance use did not complete it successfully.[82] Younger age, frequent cocaine use in the previous 30 days, and overall longevity of cocaine use, have all been associated with higher rates of relapse and treatment dropout.[83]
Treatment programme participation of over 90 days has been shown to lead to greater improvement for all patient groups.[84]
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