Treatment of Alcohol Withdrawal in Hospital Patients - Full Text View

Sponsor:	National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Information provided by:	National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00249366

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to test how tolerable and effective lorazepam is when used to treat alcohol withdrawal in hospital patients at risk for alcohol withdrawal.

Condition	Intervention	Phase
Acute Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome	Drug: Lorazepam (drug)	Phase IV

Study Type:	Interventional
Study Design:	Treatment, Randomized, Single Blind, Dose Comparison, Parallel Assignment, Efficacy Study
Official Title:	Acute Drug Withdrawal in a General Medical Setting

Resource links provided by NLM:

Drug Information available for: Ethanol Lorazepam

U.S. FDA Resources

Further study details as provided by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA):

Primary Outcome Measures:

Difference in withdrawal assessment scores
Total dose of lorazepam
Protocol errors

Secondary Outcome Measures:

Protocol acceptability to nurses
Protocol acceptability to physicians
Inpatient length of stay

Estimated Enrollment:	183
Study Start Date:	April 2001
Estimated Study Completion Date:	May 2003

Detailed Description:

Studies show that symptom-triggered dosing is best for treatment of alcohol withdrawal in patients on chemical dependence units without other illness. On general medical hospital wards, withdrawal may be affected by comorbid medical illness. A clinical trial was undertaken to determine whether there is a difference between symptom-triggered (ST) and fixed-schedule (FS) dosing of lorazepam in patients hospitalized on general medical wards at a University medical center. Subjects were assessed by their nurses with the Revised Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol (CIWA-Ar) scale. Subjects in the ST arm received lorazepam doses based on CIWA-Ar score. Subjects in the FS arm received scheduled lorazepam with tapering over 4 days.

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:	21 Years to 75 Years
Genders Eligible for Study:	Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:	No

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Alcohol dependence (based on criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition)
Daily alcohol use for at least seven consecutive days with the last use no more than 72 hours prior to enrollment
Patients on the General Internal Medicine service

Exclusion Criteria:

Unable to give informed consent
Chronically maintained on prescription sedative-hypnotics

Contacts and Locations

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00249366

Locations

United States, Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center
Richmond, Virginia, United States, 23219

Sponsors and Collaborators

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Investigators

Principal Investigator:

Michael F. Weaver, MD

Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center

More Information

No publications provided

Study ID Numbers:	NIAAAWEA-K2300222-A, NIH Grant K23 AA00222
Study First Received:	November 3, 2005
Last Updated:	November 3, 2005
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00249366 History of Changes
Health Authority:	United States: Federal Government

Keywords provided by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA):

Alcohol withdrawal
Symptom-triggered therapy
Fixed-schedule therapy
Revised Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol (CIWA-Ar)
Lorazepam (drug)

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Neurotransmitter Agents
Substance Withdrawal Syndrome
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action
GABA Modulators
Physiological Effects of Drugs
Psychotropic Drugs
Disorders of Environmental Origin
Antiemetics
Lorazepam
Pathologic Processes
Mental Disorders
Syndrome
Therapeutic Uses

Hypnotics and Sedatives
Substance-Related Disorders
Disease
Tranquilizing Agents
Gastrointestinal Agents
Central Nervous System Depressants
Pharmacologic Actions
Autonomic Agents
GABA Agents
Anti-Anxiety Agents
Peripheral Nervous System Agents
Central Nervous System Agents
Anticonvulsants

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on November 27, 2009