Treatment of the Acute Alcohol Withdrawal State: A Comparison of Four Drugs
S. C. KAIM M.D.1,
C. J. KLETT PH.D.2, , and
BENJAMIN ROTHFELD M.D.3
1 Director, staff for alcoholism and related disorders, Veterans Administration Central Office. Washington, D. C. 20420
2 Chief, Central Neuropsychiatric Research Laboratory, Veterans Administration Hospital, Perry Point, Md.
3 Associate chief of staff, Veterans Administration Hospital, Perry Point, Md.
A double-blind study of 537 patients evaluated the relative efficacy of four drugs—chlordiazepoxide, chlorpromazine, hydroxyzine, and thiamine—commonly used in treating alcohol withdrawal symptoms, specifically to prevent delirium tremens and convulsions. Of the 55 patients who developed these symptoms, two percent were in the chlordiazepoxide group; the incidence ranged from ten to 16 percent in the other treatment groups. The authors conclude that chlordiazepoxide appears to be the drug of choice among those tested.
