Baclofen for alcohol dependence in France: incidence of treated patients and prescription patterns--a cohort study

Abstract

Recently, baclofen has been widely promoted for treatment of alcohol dependence in France. Our aim was firstly to describe the incidence of patients newly treated with baclofen for alcohol dependence in France from 2007 to 2011, and secondly to describe baclofen prescription patterns and prescribers. A retrospective cohort study of patients newly treated with baclofen was conducted using the "Echantillon Généraliste des Bénéficiaires" database (EGB). Patients with a first dispensation of baclofen between 01/01/2007 and 31/12/2011, followed by a second in the next 120 days, were included. Patients were considered treated with baclofen for neurological conditions if at least one of the following conditions was found to be true: (1) presence of a neurological condition for which baclofen could be prescribed, (2) dispensation of dantrolene, another anti-spastic drug, or (3) hospitalization for a neurological condition for which baclofen could be prescribed. We assumed that all the remaining patients were treated for alcohol dependence. During the 5-year period, 676 patients were incident users. While the annual incidence rate of patients newly treated with baclofen for neurological conditions remained stable, the annual incidence rate of patients newly treated with baclofen for alcohol dependence increased by a factor of 2.9 between 2007 (0.09/1000 person-years) and 2011 (0.26/1000 person-years). In the alcohol dependence group, median duration of baclofen treatment was 143.5 [74.0; 377.0] days; median daily dose was 24.4 [14.8; 39.5] mg. This study demonstrated the rapidly increasing use of baclofen in France for treatment of alcohol dependence.

Keywords: Addictive behavior; Alcoholism; Baclofen; Cohort studies; General practitioners; Incidence.