Cardiologist's Knowledge and Attitudes About Methadone and Buprenorphine Maintenance Treatment: A Survey Study in Tehran, Iran

Todays, methadone and buprenorphine maintaining treatment (MMT/BMT) is considered an effective method for opioid-dependent patients. It seems that lack of enough information among health care specialists including cardiologists about such treatments could result in some problems for patients such as relapse into addiction.. This study aimed to investigate knowledge and attitude of cardiologists in Tehran, Iran, about MMT/BMT for opioid-dependent patients with a clinical picture of acute coronary syndrome.. In a multicentric analytical-observational study on clinical cardiologists of five teaching hospitals in Tehran, knowledge and attitude about MMT/BMT in patients with cardiovascular complains were assessed by an investigator-made self-reported questionnaire.. Of a hundred invitation contacts, 55 cardiologists participated in the study (missing rate of 45%). The mean age of respondents was 42.23 ± 3.13 and 76.4% were female. Only 49.1% of cardiologists answered to all the five questions correctly and most (92.7%) declared to have a little or moderate information about MMT/BMT.. It seems that physicians have low to moderate levels of knowledge regarding the treatment of patients receiving BMT/MMT. It is recommended to train physicians during some study courses about MMT/BMT to improve their knowledge in this field. Of course, participation in seminars and conferences about MMT/BMT can be another effective strategy to increase the level of awareness in health care professionals..