Disulfiram Should Remain Second-line Treatment for Most Patients with Alcohol Use Disorder

Author:

Axelrath Sarah

Abstract

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is responsible for a significant burden of medical, economic, and social harm globally and across the United States. Currently, only three FDA-approved medications for AUD are available, and most patients with AUD never receive pharmacotherapy. Disulfiram, the first medication that FDA approved for treatment of AUD, is recommended as a second-line treatment option by several national treatment guidelines citing safety concerns and lack of high-quality comparative studies. In this issue, Holt argues that disulfiram should be reclassified as a first-line treatment for AUD based on promising open-label randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for disulfiram as a behavioral intervention. Review of the literature suggests that disulfiram can be a useful treatment for a highly selected group of patients with no medical or psychiatric contraindications, high motivation for abstinence, and adequate family support. Unfortunately, many patients with AUD, a disorder characterized by high rates of medical and psychiatric multimorbidity and social vulnerability, fall outside of this narrow selection criteria. Prescribers should consider other FDA-approved medications as first-line treatment options for most patients with AUD, reserving disulfiram for the rare patients in whom the potential for benefit clearly outweighs risk of harm.

Publisher

Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)

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