Baclofen for alcohol withdrawal.
Author(s): Liu J, Wang L.
Affiliation(s): Department of Geriatric Neurology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China,
100853.
Publication date & source: 2011, Cochrane Database Syst Rev. , (1):CD008502
BACKGROUND: The treatment of baclofen can rapidly reduce symptoms of severe
alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) in alcoholic patients, with a significant
reduction in the cost. Baclofen is easily manageable, what's more, no patient
treated with baclofen reported euphoria or other pleasant effects caused by the
drug and no subject reported any degree of craving for the drug.
OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy and safety of baclofen for patients with
alcohol withdrawal syndrome.
SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials
(September 2010), MEDLINE (1966 to September 2010), EMBASE (1980 to September
2010), and CINAHL (1982 to September 2010). We also searched the following
registers of ongoing trials, e.g. Clinicaltrials.gov, Controlled trials.com,
EUDRACT, etc. At the same time, we handsearched the references quoted in the
identified trials, contact researchers, pharmaceutical companies and relevant
trial authors seeking information about unpublished or incomplete trials. All
searches included non-English language literature.
SELECTION CRITERIA: All randomised controlled clinical trials (RCTs) evaluating
baclofen versus placebo or any other treatment for patients with AWS.
Uncontrolled, non-randomised or quasi-randomised trials were excluded. Both
parallel group and cross-over design were included.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two reviewers independently assessed references
retrieved for possible inclusion. All disagreements were resolved by an
independent party. Study authors were contacted for additional information.
Adverse effects information was collected from the trials.
MAIN RESULTS: We identified a total of 82 references from all electronic
databases searched excluding duplicate. After screening of titles and abstracts,
full papers of 7 studies were obtained and assessed for eligibility. Finally,
only one study met the inclusion criteria, with 37 participants.
AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: The evidence of recommending baclofen for AWS is
insufficient. More well designed RCTs are demanded to further prove its efficacy
and safety.
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