OBJECTIVE Complementary medicines are an emergent field in the treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs) and include Amazonian medicines, such as ayahuasca. The aim of this multimodal cross-sectional study was to investigate characteristics of people who seek treatment for SUDs at an accredited healthcare facility that applies Amazonian medicines along with conventional psychotherapy. METHOD We collected clinical and sociodemographic data of consecutive admissions at the Takiwasi Addiction Treatment Center (Tarapoto, Peru) using structured questionnaires, interviews, and letters submitted upon program application describing motivation for treatment. RESULTS The sample of 50 male participants admitted between 2014 and 2016 was culturally heterogeneous, including patients from Peru (42%), other Latin American countries (34%), and North America/Europe (24%). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, criteria indicated dependencies on cannabis (72%), alcohol (52%), cocaine/base paste (48%), and others; multiple substance use was common (84%). Self-reported depression and anxiety scores showed moderate elevation. Comparison of Addiction Severity Index composite scores to a large U.S. sample suggested somewhat more severe problems in the drug and psychiatric domains. Common motives for selecting the program included interest in Amazonian medicine, the Takiwasi concept of treatment, and unfavorable experiences with past treatments. Being motivated by family, a desire for self-transformation, and spiritual/existential motives were common themes for treatment initiation. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that the Amazonian medicine-based therapy attracts a diverse patient group not limited to regional residents and may be particularly appealing to more impaired SUD patients with a history of unsuccessful treatment. The sample's cultural diversity suggests an existing interest in such therapies among international SUD treatment-seeking patients. These findings are relevant in light of the need for improved SUD therapies and contribute to the emergent research literature on ayahuasca-based treatments.

中文翻译：

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谁求助于亚马逊医学来治疗物质使用失调？塔基瓦西戒毒所的患者特征

目的辅助药物是治疗物质使用失调（SUD）的新兴领域，包括亚马逊药，例如ayahuasca。这项多模式横断面研究的目的是调查在经认可的医疗机构中寻求SUD治疗的人群的特征，该机构将亚马逊药物与传统心理疗法一起使用。方法我们使用结构化的问卷，访谈和在计划申请时提交的描述治疗动机的信函，收集了塔基瓦西成瘾治疗中心（秘鲁塔拉波托）连续入院的临床和社会人口统计学数据。结果2014年至2016年期间收治的50名男性参与者的文化差异，其中包括秘鲁（42％），其他拉丁美洲国家（34％），和北美/欧洲（24％）。《精神疾病诊断和统计手册》第四版，标准表明对大麻的依赖程度（72％），酒精（52％），可卡因/基础糊剂（48％）等；多种药物的使用很普遍（84％）。自我报告的抑郁和焦虑评分显示中度升高。将成瘾严重性指数综合评分与大量美国样本进行比较表明，药物和精神病学领域存在一些更为严重的问题。选择该计划的共同动机包括对亚马逊医学的兴趣，塔基瓦西（Takiwasi）的治疗概念以及过去治疗的不利经历。在家庭的激励下，对自我转化的渴望以及精神/存在动机是治疗启动的共同主题。结论我们的结果表明，亚马逊医学为基础的疗法吸引了不仅仅局限于当地居民的多样化患者群体，并且可能特别吸引那些治疗历史不佳的SUD患者。该样本的文化多样性表明，寻求国际SUD治疗的患者对这种疗法已有兴趣。鉴于需要改进的SUD疗法，这些发现是相关的，并且有助于基于阿育吠陀疗法的新兴研究文献。