A double-blind comparison of carbamazepine and clomethiazole in the treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome

Abstract

The efficacy and tolerability of carbamazepine and clomethiazole in the treatment of alcohol withdrawal symptoms were compared in a double-blind study with 68 hospitalized patients. Target withdrawal symptoms, the patient's subjective feeling and unwanted effects were recorded daily during the 1 week-treatment period. No significant differences between the two treatments could be demonstrated in the parameters studied. It appears that carbamazepine, which is widely used as an antiepileptic drug, well tolerated and not likely to produce any addiction as such, might offer a valuable alternative treatment for the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal.