Treatment Of Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome: Dexmedetomidine Vs Diazepam In A Hospital O'horán
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2018-08-31
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
The cessation of alcohol consumption of people suffering from alcohol abuse frequently leads
to the development of an alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS).
The ethylic suppression syndrome is defined as the appearance of two or more data of
autonomic hyperactivity, nausea, hallucinations and seizures associated with the cessation of
alcohol consumption. For its evaluation, the CIWA-Ar scale is used, which guides the
treatment based on benzodiazepines but with many adverse effects, so sedatives have been
tried, among them dexmedetomidine, an alpha-agonist with action in the locus caeruleus, with
variable results. Objectives: The investigators aimed to compare the DEX vs. Diazepam, for
moderate disease, applying the CIWA-Ar scale, in participants with severe to moderate AWS.
Methodology: 40 participants with CIWA-Ar greater than 10 points, the investigators are
collected and randomized into two groups: one under treatment with diazepam (Group Diazepam)
and another with dexmedetomidine (Group Dexmedetomidine), until the CIWA-Ar was reduced to
less than 10, and adverse effects the investigators also reported. The analysis was done with
student t. Results: The average duration of treatment with diazepam was 5.5 days (IC 95 =
6.6-3.8), the average duration of treatment with dexmedetomidine was 3.1 days (95% CI =
4.5-1.7), with a significant difference ( p = 0.0016). In the group with diazepam 60%
presented adverse effects and in the group with dexmedetomidine 25% presented them, with a
significant difference (p = 0.04). Conclusion: dexmedetomidine was superior to diazepam for
the treatment of moderate-severe alcohol withdrawal with fewer adverse effects.
KEY WORDS: Alcohol dependence · Alcohol withdrawal syndrome · Dexmedetomidine · Diazepam ·
Benzodiazepines