![]() Eighty-one percent of patients identified as white and 95% reported English as their primary language. Sixty-four percent of patients were between the ages of 40 and 60. This included only adults, of whom 16% were over the age of 65. We identified 96,050 patients meeting our search criteria. Linear regression analysis was performed using the Excel analysis toolpak. We searched for medications with varying recommendations for use in AWS. As there are close to 100 different benzodiazepines we searched for representative agents and not a comprehensive list of each individual agent. We conducted searches for benzodiazepines as a drug class and then within that, commonly used benzodiazepines. The nature of the search is such that patients without a coding diagnosis of AWS would not have been identified, such as those who were coded for related diagnoses such as psychosis, dehydration, seizures, or other comorbidities of AWS without a cooccurring diagnosis of AWS. We searched the database universe for adult patients with a diagnosis of AWS and an inpatient encounter for the years 2016-2019. As this is deidentified data, the study was deemed by our Institutional Review Board as not meeting criteria for review under current regulations. 5 The database is available for searches by investigators from the participating organizations. It is then deidentified, standardized, and normalized. The data is collected from electronic health records, billing systems, imaging, and laboratory systems. This study used the Explorys IBM Watson Database, a health data repository that collects data from various participating health care organizations. We wished to assess whether adjunctive medications such as the antiepileptics, including carbamazepine were commonly used. We were particularly interested in the use of adjunctive medications in addition to benzodiazepines and to assess whether those trends had changed over the recent past. ![]() The purpose of this study was to assess trends in the use of medications for the treatment of inpatients with alcohol use syndrome. 3 Further, where protocols exist for the management of AWS, evidence indicates that those protocols are followed in a minority of instances. Previous studies have reported that there is substantial variability in the management of AWS. ![]() Other agents are used to manage aspects of the AWS including antipsychotics such as haloperidol and alpha-2 agonists, such as clonidine. There is evidence for the effectiveness of other agents including phenobarbital and antiepileptics such as carbamazepine. The mainstay of treatment in the United States has been through the use of benzodiazepines. 2 There are a variety of medications that have effectiveness in the treatment of AWS mainly through activity on the gamma-aminobutyric acid receptors. 1 Of patients admitted with alcohol use disorder, it is estimated that about 8% of them will develop alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS). Opportunities seem to exist to expand the use of adjunctive agents.Īlcohol use disorder is estimated to occur in about 14 million US adults with a male predominance. Many patients receive clonidine and haloperidol. In summary, adjunctive agents with literature support such as carbamazepine were used sparingly. Baclofen was used in the same frequency as some of the antiepileptics. Clonidine was used in 42% of patients and haloperidol in 44% of patients. The antiepileptics were used sparingly varying from 2% to 14% by an agent. Benzodiazepines were used in a number greater than the number of inpatients suggesting the use of multiple agents. During the 4-year study analysis, we identified 96,050 inpatients. We then searched for medication use associated with the admission focusing on benzodiazepines, barbiturates, antiepileptics, haloperidol, clonidine, and baclofen. We searched the Explorys IBM Watson Health Database for patients coded with AWS and an inpatient encounter from the years 2016 to 2019. There are a variety of medications typically used for alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) and the purpose of this study was to assess patterns of medication use for inpatients with an AWS. It is estimated that about 8% of patients with alcohol use disorder develop withdrawal symptoms when admitted to the hospital.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |