Review of adjunctive dexmedetomidine in the management of severe acute alcohol withdrawal syndrome

The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Adrian WongSandra L Kane-Gill

Abstract

The primary management of alcohol withdrawal involves the administration of a γ-aminobutyric acid agonist, such as benzodiazepines, for management of symptoms and to prevent further progression to seizure or delirium tremens. Despite escalating doses of benzodiazepines, published literature indicates that some patient's alcohol withdrawal syndrome symptoms do not respond, and that the use of adjunctive agents may be beneficial in these patients. Dexmedetomidine, an α2-agonist, serves as a potential adjunctive agent through management of associated autonomic symptoms. Understanding of recent literature evaluating its use is necessary for appropriate selection. To review available literature supporting the use of adjunctive dexmedetomidine for management of severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome. A total of 13 published articles evaluating the efficacy and safety of dexmedetomidine as an adjunctive agent for the treatment of alcohol withdrawal in adult patients were identified from a MEDLINE search using the key words alcohol withdrawal, delirium tremens and dexmedetomidine. Evaluation of the literature indicates that dexmedetomidine is associated with a decrease in short-term benzodiazepine requirements after initiation, and improve...Continue Reading

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Citations

Apr 8, 2020·Open Access Emergency Medicine : OAEM·Chelsea WolfScott A Simpson
Aug 25, 2020·The Annals of Pharmacotherapy·Mahmoud A AmmarRobert D Becher
May 12, 2019·Critical Care : the Official Journal of the Critical Care Forum·Paul E Marik, Amanda Liggett

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