Cocaine-using substance abuse treatment patients with and without HIV respond well to contingency management treatment

HIV is common among individuals with substance use disorders, but relatively few studies have examined the impact of HIV status on response to substance abuse treatment. This secondary analysis compared patients seeking treatment for cocaine use with and without HIV in terms of substance use treatment outcomes. Primary treatment outcomes included treatment retention, longest duration of abstinence, and percent of negative samples; both substance use outcomes reflect abstinence from cocaine, alcohol and opioids concurrently. Participants (N = 432) were enrolled in randomized clinical trials comparing contingency management (CM) to standard care, and 32 (7%) reported being positive for HIV. Overall, CM improved both treatment retention (average of 8.2 weeks compared to 6.0 weeks in the standard care condition) and longest duration of abstinence (average of 5.8 weeks compared to 2.8 weeks in the standard care condition). HIV status was not associated with treatment outcomes as a main effect, nor did it have an interaction effect with treatment condition. These results suggest a benefit of CM in substance abuse treatment irrespective of HIV status.