Phenobarbital vs Ativan for Alcohol Withdrawal in the Intensive Care Unit

Summary

Our aim is to compare outcomes of patients with benzodiazepine-refractory alcohol withdrawal syndrome who are treated with either a phenobarbital-based or a lorazepam based protocol.

Timeline

Start

2020-07-06

Primary completion

2021-12-01

Completion

2022-03-01

Publications

• Background Friedmann PD. Alcohol use in adults. N Engl J Med. 2013 Apr 25;368(17):1655-6. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc1302445. No abstract available.
• Background Saitz R, Friedman LS, Mayo-Smith MF. Alcohol withdrawal: a nationwide survey of inpatient treatment practices. J Gen Intern Med. 1995 Sep;10(9):479-87. doi: 10.1007/BF02602395.
• Background Kosten TR, O'Connor PG. Management of drug and alcohol withdrawal. N Engl J Med. 2003 May 1;348(18):1786-95. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra020617. No abstract available.
• Background Holbrook AM, Crowther R, Lotter A, Cheng C, King D. Diagnosis and management of acute alcohol withdrawal. CMAJ. 1999 Mar 9;160(5):675-80.
• Background Miller NS, Gold MS. Management of withdrawal syndromes and relapse prevention in drug and alcohol dependence. Am Fam Physician. 1998 Jul;58(1):139-46.
• Background Kaim SC, Klett CJ, Rothfeld B. Treatment of the acute alcohol withdrawal state: a comparison of four drugs. Am J Psychiatry. 1969 Jun;125(12):1640-6. doi: 10.1176/ajp.125.12.1640. No abstract available.
• Background Sarff M, Gold JA. Alcohol withdrawal syndromes in the intensive care unit. Crit Care Med. 2010 Sep;38(9 Suppl):S494-501. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0b013e3181ec5412.
• Background Dixit D, Endicott J, Burry L, Ramos L, Yeung SY, Devabhakthuni S, Chan C, Tobia A, Bulloch MN. Management of Acute Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome in Critically Ill Patients. Pharmacotherapy. 2016 Jul;36(7):797-822. doi: 10.1002/phar.1770. Epub 2016 Jun 30.
• Background Hack JB, Hoffmann RS, Nelson LS. Resistant alcohol withdrawal: does an unexpectedly large sedative requirement identify these patients early? J Med Toxicol. 2006 Jun;2(2):55-60. doi: 10.1007/BF03161171.
• Background Wong A, Benedict NJ, Lohr BR, Pizon AF, Kane-Gill SL. Management of benzodiazepine-resistant alcohol withdrawal across a healthcare system: Benzodiazepine dose-escalation with or without propofol. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2015 Sep 1;154:296-9. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.07.005. Epub 2015 Jul 16.
• Background Duby JJ, Berry AJ, Ghayyem P, Wilson MD, Cocanour CS. Alcohol withdrawal syndrome in critically ill patients: protocolized versus nonprotocolized management. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2014 Dec;77(6):938-43. doi: 10.1097/TA.0000000000000352.
• Background Crispo AL, Daley MJ, Pepin JL, Harford PH, Brown CV. Comparison of clinical outcomes in nonintubated patients with severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome treated with continuous-infusion sedatives: dexmedetomidine versus benzodiazepines. Pharmacotherapy. 2014 Sep;34(9):910-7. doi: 10.1002/phar.1448. Epub 2014 Jun 5.
• Background Pandharipande PP, Pun BT, Herr DL, Maze M, Girard TD, Miller RR, Shintani AK, Thompson JL, Jackson JC, Deppen SA, Stiles RA, Dittus RS, Bernard GR, Ely EW. Effect of sedation with dexmedetomidine vs lorazepam on acute brain dysfunction in mechanically ventilated patients: the MENDS randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2007 Dec 12;298(22):2644-53. doi: 10.1001/jama.298.22.2644.
• Background Ives TJ, Mooney AJ 3rd, Gwyther RE. Pharmacokinetic dosing of phenobarbital in the treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome. South Med J. 1991 Jan;84(1):18-21. doi: 10.1097/00007611-199101000-00006.
• Background Tangmose K, Nielsen MK, Allerup P, Ulrichsen J. Linear correlation between phenobarbital dose and concentration in alcohol withdrawal patients. Dan Med Bull. 2010 Aug;57(8):A4141.
• Background Kramp P, Rafaelsen OJ. Delirium tremens: a double-blind comparison of diazepam and barbital treatment. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1978 Aug;58(2):174-90. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1978.tb06930.x.
• Background Martin PR, Bhushan CM, Kapur BM, Whiteside EA, Sellers EM. Intravenous phenobarbital therapy in barbiturate and other hypnosedative withdrawal reactions: a kinetic approach. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 1979 Aug;26(2):256-64. doi: 10.1002/cpt1979262256.
• Background Robinson GM, Sellers EM, Janecek E. Barbiturate and hypnosedative withdrawal by a multiple oral phenobarbital loading dose technique. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 1981 Jul;30(1):71-6. doi: 10.1038/clpt.1981.129.
• Background Young GP, Rores C, Murphy C, Dailey RH. Intravenous phenobarbital for alcohol withdrawal and convulsions. Ann Emerg Med. 1987 Aug;16(8):847-50. doi: 10.1016/s0196-0644(87)80520-6.
• Background Hendey GW, Dery RA, Barnes RL, Snowden B, Mentler P. A prospective, randomized, trial of phenobarbital versus benzodiazepines for acute alcohol withdrawal. Am J Emerg Med. 2011 May;29(4):382-5. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2009.10.010. Epub 2010 Mar 25.
• Background Rosenson J, Clements C, Simon B, Vieaux J, Graffman S, Vahidnia F, Cisse B, Lam J, Alter H. Phenobarbital for acute alcohol withdrawal: a prospective randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study. J Emerg Med. 2013 Mar;44(3):592-598.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2012.07.056. Epub 2012 Sep 19.
• Background Ibarra F Jr. Single dose phenobarbital in addition to symptom-triggered lorazepam in alcohol withdrawal. Am J Emerg Med. 2020 Feb;38(2):178-181. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2019.01.053. Epub 2019 Jan 30.
• Background Tidwell WP, Thomas TL, Pouliot JD, Canonico AE, Webber AJ. Treatment of Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome: Phenobarbital vs CIWA-Ar Protocol. Am J Crit Care. 2018 Nov;27(6):454-460. doi: 10.4037/ajcc2018745.
• Background Gold JA, Rimal B, Nolan A, Nelson LS. A strategy of escalating doses of benzodiazepines and phenobarbital administration reduces the need for mechanical ventilation in delirium tremens. Crit Care Med. 2007 Mar;35(3):724-30. doi: 10.1097/01.CCM.0000256841.28351.80.
• Background Gashlin LZ, Groth CM, Wiegand TJ, et al. Comparison of alcohol withdrawal outcomes in patients treated with benzodiazepines alone versus adjunctive phenobarbital: a retrospective cohort study. Asia Pac J Med Toxicol 2015;4:31-6.
• Background Hjermo I, Anderson JE, Fink-Jensen A, Allerup P, Ulrichsen J. Phenobarbital versus diazepam for delirium tremens--a retrospective study. Dan Med Bull. 2010 Aug;57(8):A4169.
• Background Askgaard G, Hallas J, Fink-Jensen A, Molander AC, Madsen KG, Pottegard A. Phenobarbital compared to benzodiazepines in alcohol withdrawal treatment: A register-based cohort study of subsequent benzodiazepine use, alcohol recidivism and mortality. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2016 Apr 1;161:258-64. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2016.02.016. Epub 2016 Feb 18.
• Background Mo Y, Thomas MC, Karras GE Jr. Barbiturates for the treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome: A systematic review of clinical trials. J Crit Care. 2016 Apr;32:101-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jcrc.2015.11.022. Epub 2015 Dec 8.

Drugs

Indications