Disulfiram efficacy in the treatment of alcohol dependence: a meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite its success with compliant or supervised patients, disulfiram has been a controversial medication in the treatment of alcoholism. Often, study designs did not recognize a pivotal factor in disulfiram research, the importance of an open-label design. Our objectives are: (1) to analyze the efficacy and safety of disulfiram in RCTs in supporting abstinence and (2) to compare blind versus open-label studies, hypothesizing that blinded studies would show no difference between disulfiram and control groups because the threat would be evenly spread across all groups.

Methods and findings

We searched PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane Central Register for RCTs on disulfiram use with alcoholics in comparison to any alcoholic control group. The primary outcome was defi

SUBMITTER: Skinner MD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3919718 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature