Most who tapered with strips and replied years later were still off
Of 824 people using the strips, most after earlier failed attempts, 72% stopped; of 408 asked one to five years later, 66% were still off. Nobody tapered without strips for comparison.
What the study found
Two in three tapering-strip users were still off the drug years on
Tapering strips are rolls of daily pouches of slowly falling doses, made in the Netherlands. Of 824 users, most after earlier failures, 72% stopped over a median 56 days, venlafaxine users most often of the three drug groups. Of 408 surveyed one to five years on, 66% were still off.
The caveat · No comparison group without strips
Nobody tapered without the strips for comparison, so the figures describe the users, not the strips' effect. Response rates were 48% and 59%, and outcomes were self-reported, some recalled from up to five years earlier. The authors' institute received a grant from the pharmacy that makes the strips.
What we don't know
Nobody tapered without the strips for comparison, so the figures describe the users, not the strips' effect. Response rates were 48% and 59%, and outcomes were self-reported, some recalled from up to five years earlier. The authors' institute received a grant from the pharmacy that makes the strips.