Cocaine treatment outcome: cocaine use following inpatient, outpatient, and no treatment.

Based upon a sample of 83 cocaine users self-selected into one of 3 programs, several conclusions seem possible. There seems to be little difference in Ss populations who choose hospital, outpatient or self-help/no treatment. Current hospital aftercare programs may not be appropriately oriented for cocaine users. It appears the hospital program in this study retained fewer than 30% of the Ss in aftercare. Outpatient treatment for cocaine dependency is a viable form of treatment which Ss will participate in for up to 6 months on a fee for service basis. Only about 20% of the Ss who were referred to self-help groups attended more than one meeting. Preliminary outcome data suggest that outpatient treatment may result in a lower relapse rate to cocaine than hospital or no treatment. However, this conclusion is extremely guarded due to a large number of methodological issues and the short follow-up period. Relapse to cocaine use is higher among Ss who returned to alcohol or marijuana.