ArticleThe Canadian journal of hospital pharmacy2011
Evaluation of an alcohol withdrawal protocol and a preprinted order set at a tertiary care hospital.
Article in The Canadian journal of hospital pharmacy, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Application of a diazepam milligram equivalency algorithm to assess benzodiazepine dose intensity in Rhode Island in 2018.Journal of managed care & specialty pharmacy · 2022Pooled it
- Derivation and validation of a prediction rule for sedative-associated delirium during acute respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation.Journal of critical care · 2026Article
- Guideline concordance of electronic health record order sets for hospital-based treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome.Journal of hospital medicine · 2025Article
- Alcohol Withdrawal.Journal of education & teaching in emergency medicine · 2025Article
- Inflammatory Subphenotype Is Associated with Acute Brain Dysfunction in Mechanically Ventilated Patients.Annals of the American Thoracic Society · 2024Article
- Dissociative seizures in the emergency room: room for improvement.Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry · 2024Article
- The Use of Anticonvulsant Adjuncts to Treat Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome in Older Adults.Canadian geriatrics journal : CGJ · 2022Article
- Evaluation of a Novel Protocol for Assessment and Treatment of Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome in Psychiatric Inpatients.The American journal on addictions · 2020Article
- Association Between Preoperative Benzodiazepine Use and Postoperative Opioid Use and Health Care Costs.JAMA network open · 2020Article
- Outcomes After Implementation of an Alcohol Withdrawal Protocol at a Single Institution.Hospital pharmacy · 2016Article
- Alcohol withdrawal syndrome in critically ill patients: protocolized versus nonprotocolized management.The journal of trauma and acute care surgery · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAlcohol withdrawal protocols involving symptom-triggered administration of benzodiazepine have been established to reduce the duration of treatment and the cumulative benzodiazepine dose (relative to usual care). However, the effects of a protocol combining fixed-schedule and symptom-triggered benzodiazepine dosing are less clear.
objectiveTo assess the efficacy and safety of a combination fixed-scheduled and symptom-triggered benzodiazepine dosing protocol for alcohol withdrawal, relative to usual care, for medical inpatients at a tertiary care hospital.
methodsA chart review of admissions to the internal medicine service for alcohol withdrawal was conducted to compare treatment outcomes before (October 2005 to April 2007) and after (October 2007 to April 2009) implementation of the combination protocol. The primary outcome was duration of benzodiazepine treatment for alcohol withdrawal. The secondary outcomes were cumulative benzodiazepine dose administered, safety implications, and use of adjunctive medications.
resultsA total of 159 patients met the inclusion criteria. Assessable data were available for 71 charts from the pre-implementation period and 72 charts from the post-implementation period. The median duration of benzodiazepine treatment was 91 h before implementation and 57 h after implementation (p < 0.001). Use of the protocol was also associated with a significant reduction in severe complications of alcohol withdrawal (50% versus 33%, p = 0.019), median cumulative benzodiazepine dose (in lorazepam equivalents) (20.0 mg versus 15.5 mg, p = 0.026), and use of adjunctive medications (65% versus 38%, p = 0.001). The incidence of serious adverse outcomes of treatment with benzodiazepines was not significantly different between the 2 groups.
conclusionsImplementation of an alcohol withdrawal protocol with a combination of fixed-schedule and symptom-triggered benzodiazepine dosing in a medical ward was associated with a shorter duration of benzodiazepine use and a lower incidence of severe complications of alcohol withdrawal.
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.