Ambulant Treatment of Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms With Carbamazepine: A Formal Multicentre Double‐blind Comparison With Placebo

Abstract

One hundred male out-patients were treated for alcohol withdrawal symptoms with either carbamazepine or placebo in a double-blind, multicentre trial carried out a five Finnish A-clinics (alcoholism treatment centres) in different parts of the country. In both the carbamazepine and the placebo groups two thirds of the patients completed the 7-day treatment successfully, and the final treatment results were considered equally good in both groups. However, the withdrawal symptoms, especially the sleep disturbances, subsided faster in the carbamazepine group than in the placebo group. The change in the total symptom score from the first day of treatment to the second was significantly greater in the carbamazepine group than in the placebo group. The patients' ability to work improved significantly faster in the carbamazepine group.

Outpatient Alcohol Detoxification: Implementation Efficacy and Outcome Effectiveness of a Model Project

“…The study was performed in an outpatient alcohol clinic which already offered a comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation program [Soyka et al, 1997] and had expressed its interest in a collaboration in this area. The results of this treatment program with a 94% completion rate of outpatient detoxification support the positive results reported by Wiseman et al [1997Wiseman et al [ , 1998] and others [Collins et al, 1990;Alterman et al, 1998;Bjorkquist et al, 1976; , 1989] and suggest that outpatient alcohol detoxification can be considered a safe and effective treatment option for a subgroup of alcoholic patients.…”

“…While in Scandinavia, Great Britain and the US a number of treatment models for outpatient alcohol detoxification have been proposed and evaluated [Alsen, 1975;Alterman et al, 1998;Bjorkquist et al, 1976, O'Connor et al, 1991Webb and Unwin, 1988], mostly in specialized outpatient clinics but partially also at home [Stockwell et al, 1986], to date in Germany outpatient detoxification is hardly practiced, at least on a structured basis. The literature on this subject is still surprisingly limited.…”

“…Future studies should focus on different treatment settings (outpatient clinic vs. home detoxification), individual variables predicting outcome, evaluation of different pharmacological regimes for outpatient treatment including antidepressants and carbamazepine [Bjorkquist et al, 1976] that might minimize the risk for secondary drug dependence and socioeconomic factors (cost-benefit ratio), among others.…”

Alcohol withdrawal delirium - diagnosis, course and treatment

“…A number of studies have confirmed carbamazepine efficacy in reducing symptoms of alcohol withdrawal syndrome in the inpatient setting 72,[97][98][99][100][101][102] . Compared with benzodiazepines or clomethiazole, carbamazepine was found effective in alcohol detoxification in seven randomized controlled studies 72,90,[97][98][99][100][101] .…”

The effects of carbamazepine and lorazepam on single versus multiple previous alcohol withdrawals in an outpatient randomized trial

“…The anticonvulsant carbamazepine has been used in northern Europe for over 25 years to treat alcohol withdrawal. Carbamazepine has been demonstrated to be superior to placebo 14 and to nonbenzodiazepine sedative-hypnotics in suppressing alcohol withdrawal symptoms. 15,16 Carbamazepine has been shown in 2 double-blind trials 17,18 to be as effective as oxazepam in the inpatient treatment of alcohol withdrawal.…”