Podcast 863: Treatments for Alcohol Use Disorder

<p dir="ltr"><strong>Contributor: Aaron Lessen MD</strong></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Educational Pearls:</strong></p> <ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Patients with alcohol use disorder are frequently discharged from the ED without further resources</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Pharmacological treatments to reduce cravings in AUD exist</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Naltrexone </p> </li> <ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="2"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Effective at reducing alcohol cravings and heavy drinking </p> </li> </ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Gabapentin</p> </li> <ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="2"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Reduces the percentage of heavy drinking days in AUD</p> </li> </ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Patients being discharged from the ED should be asked if they feel their alcohol use is a problem, which can further direct appropriate pharmacological interventions</p> </li> </ul> <p dir="ltr"><strong>References</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">1. Kranzler M.D. HR, Feinn Ph.D. R, Morris B.A. P, Hartwell Ph.D. EE. A Meta-analysis of the Efficacy of Gabapentin for Treating Alcohol Use Disorder Henry. Addiction. 2019;114(9):1547-1555. doi:10.1111/add.14655</p> <p dir="ltr">2. Maisel NC, Blodgett JC, Wilbourne PL, Humphreys K, Finney JW. Meta-analysis of naltrexone and acamprosate for treating alcohol use disorders: When are these medications most helpful? Addiction. 2013;108(2):275-293. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2012.04054.x</p> <p dir="ltr">3. Mariani JJ, Pavlicova M, Basaraba C, et al. Pilot randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial of high-dose gabapentin for alcohol use disorder. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2021;45(8):1639-1652. doi:10.1111/acer.14648</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Summarized & Edited by Jorge Chalit, OMSII</em></p> <p> </p>