Management of alcohol withdrawal syndromes
- 1 February 1978
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Medical Association (AMA) in Archives of internal medicine (1960)
- Vol. 138 (2) , 278-283
- https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.138.2.278
Abstract
Withdrawal from alcohol or other general sedatives leads to hyperactivity that progresses from tremulousness, sleep disturbance and hallucinosis, to the more serious rum fits and delirium tremens (DT). Withdrawal can be prevented and arrested by prompt replacement of alcohol with paraldehyde, benzodiazepines or other general sedatives. Diazepam is appropriate replacement therapy for most patients. When delirium is manifest, the chance is greater than 15% that the patient will die, and this reaction cannot be aborted. The patient with DT must be calmed with a general sedative that has a rapid onset of maximal effect to prevent overdosage. Diazepam, 5 mg i.v. every 5 min, permits evaluation of the maximal effect of each dose before the next dose is administered. Although some patients have advanced sedative or alcohol withdrawal, great care must be taken to elicit the proper history of alcohol abuse so that sedative replacement therapy will prevent or abort early withdrawal.This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit:
- Diazepam and Paraldehyde for Treatment of Severe Delirium TremensAnnals of Internal Medicine, 1975
- Treatment of the Alcohol Withdrawal SyndromeJAMA, 1964
- An Experimental Study of the Etiology of “Rum Fits” and Delirium TremensQuarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 1955