A Randomised Clinical Trial of In-Patient versus Combined Day Hospital Treatment of Alcoholism: Primary and Secondary Outcome Measures

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Abstract
In Germany, the treatment system for alcoholics is predominantly in-patient (IP) oriented, but no randomised trials of setting effects have been conducted until now. We examined if detoxification treatment offered in a day clinic setting would lead to results comparable to the usual IP treatment. After initial IP detoxification, patients (n = 109) at a standard withdrawal treatment unit were randomly assigned to IP or day hospital groups. In both settings, identical psychosocial treatment was given. In this article, results of primary (percent days abstinent and drinks per drinking day) and secondary outcome measures (relapses during treatment, premature termination, additional hospitalisation during follow-up, percent of voluntary abstinent days and continuous abstinence) are reported. Outcome measures were assessed quarterly during a 1-year follow-up period. Patients improved significantly after both treatments, but we found no significant setting or setting x time interaction effects for any primary or secondary outcome measure.