Relapse Assessment in SUD Treatment

The 3 month post-treatment follow-up telephone interview asked about the use of alcohol or drugs during the last four weeks. Patients indicated how often they had used alcohol/drugs during this period, with the following response options: “less than once a week,” “approximately weekly,” “2–4 times a week,” “daily or almost daily”. We defined relapse as return to regular use [15 (link)], thus those who reported using alcohol or drugs 2–4 times or more per week were categorized as having a relapse. The interview also enquired about any contact (yes/no) with outpatient SUD treatment services; and/or a community mental health and addiction health care provider; and/or readmission to SUD inpatient treatment. A small number of patients who reported readmission to SUD treatment was included in the relapse group (see also [34 (link)].