The detoxication of alcoholics-aspects of myth, magic or malpractice.

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Abstract
Detoxication has come to mean the care of acute states of intoxication in a medically oriented facility. Many view it as the only method of managing indigent alcoholics; some advocate it as a modality for all alcoholics. Acute treatment is not necessarily emergency care; the acute phase of recovery from alcohol toxicity often continues for 7-10 days after withdrawal. Many medical and emotional problems go undetected in detoxication centers; the quick discharge after withdrawal may explain why patients fail to get further treatment. It is during the acute-care phase that much of the therapeutic groundwork needs to be accomplished. The concept of affective imprinting suggests that the patient should remain in the environment and with the treatment personnel responsible for the termination of a noxious state. Just as crucial is a strong follow-up approach. Proponents of nonmedical detoxication say that it''s economical, some treatment is better than none and it''s better than jail. Those who propose that some treatment is better than none may be encouraging pathology in the patient. The acute management of alcoholics should remain in the medical system. The treatment experience at Chicago''s Alcoholism Treatment Center was summarized.

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