Treatment of Alcohol Withdrawal

Appropriate treatment of alcohol withdrawal (AW) can relieve the patient’s discomfort, prevent the development of more serious symptoms, and forestall cumulative effects that might worsen future withdrawals. Hospital admission provides the safest setting for the treatment of AW, although many patients with mild to moderate symptoms can be treated successfully on an outpatient basis. Severe AW requires pharmacological intervention. Although a wide variety of medications have been used for this purpose, clinicians disagree on the optimum medications and prescribing schedules. The treatment of specific withdrawal complications such as delirium tremens and seizures presents special problems and requires further research.

[1]  Mayo-Smith Mf.  Pharmacological management of alcohol withdrawal. A meta-analysis and evidence-based practice guideline. American Society of Addiction Medicine Working Group on Pharmacological Management of Alcohol Withdrawal. , 1997 .

[2]  M. Mayo-Smith.  Pharmacological management of alcohol withdrawal. A meta-analysis and evidence-based practice guideline. American Society of Addiction Medicine Working Group on Pharmacological Management of Alcohol Withdrawal. , 1997, JAMA.

[3]  R. Saitz,et al.  Pharmacotherapies for alcohol abuse. Withdrawal and treatment. , 1997, The Medical clinics of North America.

[4]  H. Kranzler,et al.  Persistent delirium following cessation of heavy alcohol consumption: diagnostic and treatment implications. , 1997, The American journal of psychiatry.

[5]  P. Abbott,et al.  Ambulatory medical detoxification for alcohol. , 1995, The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse.

[6]  M. Roberts,et al.  Individualized treatment for alcohol withdrawal. A randomized double-blind controlled trial. , 1995, JAMA.

[7]  D. Gallant.  Improvements in treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndromes. , 1989, Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research.

[8]  J. Ballenger,et al.  Double-blind controlled trial comparing carbamazepine to oxazepam treatment of alcohol withdrawal. , 1989, The American journal of psychiatry.

[9]  A. Alterman,et al.  Comparative effectiveness and costs of inpatient and outpatient detoxification of patients with mild-to-moderate alcohol withdrawal syndrome. , 1989, The New England journal of medicine.

[10]  J. Ballenger,et al.  Alcohol detoxification and withdrawal seizures: Clinical support for a kindling hypothesis , 1988, Biological Psychiatry.

[11]  J. Gruber.  Diazepam loading: Simplified treatment of alcohol withdrawal , 1984 .

[12]  C. Naranjo,et al.  Diazepam loading: Simplified treatment of alcohol withdrawal , 1983, Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics.

[13]  R. Meyer,et al.  Double-blind comparison of lorazepam and diazepam in the treatment of the acute alcohol abstinence syndrome , 1983 .

[14]  T. Chalmers,et al.  Deficiencies of clinical trials of alcohol withdrawal. , 1983, Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research.

[15]  J. M. Shaw,et al.  Development of optimal treatment tactics for alcohol withdrawal. I. Assessment and effectiveness of supportive care. , 1981, Journal of clinical psychopharmacology.

[16]  R. Post,et al.  Kindling as a Model for Alcohol Withdrawal Syndromes , 1978, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[17]  C. Whitfield,et al.  Detoxification of 1,024 alcoholic patients without psychoactive drugs. , 1978, JAMA.

[18]  E. Rothstein.  Prevention of alcohol withdrawal seizures: the roles of diphenylhydantoin and chlordiazepoxide. , 1973, The American journal of psychiatry.

[19]  C. Klett,et al.  Treatment of the Acute Alcohol Withdrawal State: A Comparison of Four Drugs , 1995, Alcohol health and research world.