Am J Psychiatry 1989; 146:617-621
Copyright © 1989 by American Psychiatric Association

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Double-blind controlled trial comparing carbamazepine to oxazepam treatment of alcohol withdrawal

R Malcolm, JC Ballenger, ET Sturgis and R Anton
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston 29425-0742.

Of 86 alcoholic men with severe alcohol withdrawal who began a double- blind controlled study comparing carbamazepine, 800 mg/day, to oxazepam, 120 mg/day, 66 (carbamazepine, N = 32; oxazepam, N = 34) completed the 7-day trial. In general, the drugs were found to be equally efficacious in treating the withdrawal syndrome and not significantly different with respect to side effects. The subjects taking oxazepam had an increase in global psychological distress from day 3 to day 7, and those taking carbamazepine exhibited a decline. The study suggests that carbamazepine is as effective and safe as benzodiazepine treatment for alcohol withdrawal.

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