Trial reportDrug and alcohol dependence2011
A double-blind, placebo-controlled assessment of the safety of potential interactions between intravenous cocaine, ethanol, and oral disulfiram.
Trial report in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Disulfiram for the treatment of cocaine dependence.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Effect of alcohol on blood pressure.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- A randomized clinical trial of disulfiram at higher doses for the treatment of cocaine use disorder among methadone-stabilized patients.Journal of psychiatric research · 2025Trial
- Preliminary effects of oral ANS-6637, an ALDH2 inhibitor, on cue-induced craving, safety and alcohol consumption among adults with alcohol use disorder: a proof-of-concept, randomized, human laboratory trial.Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) · 2025Trial
- A randomized factorial trial of disulfiram and contingency management to enhance cognitive behavioral therapy for cocaine dependence.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2016Trial
- Evaluation of the dopamine β-hydroxylase (DβH) inhibitor nepicastat in participants who meet criteria for cocaine use disorder.Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry · 2015Trial
- Assessment of safety, cardiovascular and subjective effects after intravenous cocaine and lofexidine.Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry · 2014Trial
- Efficacy of disulfiram and Twelve Step Facilitation in cocaine-dependent individuals maintained on methadone: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2012Trial
- Disulfiram metabolite S-methyl-N,N-diethylthiocarbamate quantitation in human plasma with reverse phase ultra performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry.Journal of chromatography. B, Analytical technologies in the biomedical and life sciences · 2012Article
- Pharmacotherapeutics directed at deficiencies associated with cocaine dependence: focus on dopamine, norepinephrine and glutamate.Pharmacology & therapeutics · 2012Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundA majority of cocaine addicts have a comorbid alcohol use disorder. Previous studies demonstrated efficacy of disulfiram in the treatment of cocaine dependence among patients with comorbid alcohol use disorder or opioid dependence. However, the cardiac risks of a disulfiram-ethanol reaction (DER) in individuals who drink, when coupled with the cardiac effects of cocaine, could result in significant toxicity or lethality due to the 3-way drug interaction.
aimsThis study examined the safety of combining cocaine (30 mg i.v.) and ethanol (0.4 g/kg i.v.) in disulfiram-treated (0, 250, and 500 mg/d, p.o.) cocaine-dependent research volunteers.
resultsThe results showed that disulfiram did not enhance the cardiovascular effects of cocaine and may have reduced the subjective high from cocaine. In contrast, ethanol produced adverse ECG changes including QTc prolongation and a DER consisting of hypotension, tachycardia, nausea, and flushing in disulfiram-treated subjects. The severity of the DER was related to disulfiram dose and the trial with 500 mg/d was stopped prematurely due to safety concerns. The DER-related hypotension and tachycardia seen with ethanol infusion alone in disulfiram-treated subjects, was not exacerbated when combined with cocaine. In fact, cocaine tended to counteract the ethanol-related hypotension though it did exacerbate the tachycardia in two of seven subjects.
conclusionsThough conclusions are limited by the moderate doses of cocaine, ethanol, and disulfiram tested, the data do suggest that the risks of the moderate use of cocaine and ethanol in individuals treated with moderate doses of disulfiram (≤ 250 mg/d) may not be as problematic as some may assume.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.