Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27380787›Full record

ArticleAfrican journal of primary health care & family medicine2016

Doctors' views of disulfiram and their response to relapse in alcohol-dependent patients, Free State, 2009.

Paulina M Van Zyl

Open access · goldAbstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in African journal of primary health care & family medicine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 37% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.

Paulina M Van ZylDepartment of Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State. vzylpm@ufs.ac.za.
University of the Free State · ZA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDisulfiram is the oldest and best known drug to prevent relapse after detoxification from alcohol. Effective use of the drug is dependent on stringent monitoring and high levels of external motivation. Doctors' perceptions about the drug have not been investigated extensively.

aimWe investigated the perceptions and practices of doctors involved in relapse prevention in alcoholics with regard to disulfiram and their response to relapse.

settingThe study population consisted of 60 doctors from the Free State Province, involved in the follow-up of alcoholics across various work settings.

methodsA cross-sectional descriptive study design was used, and data collection involved the use of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative results are presented in figures and percentages to provide a background for the qualitative findings that are clustered in themes.

resultsA quarter of participants did not prescribe disulfiram, another quarter prescribed disulfiram routinely after detoxification, and half of them prescribed it for selected cases only. Subject to affordability, selection of disulfiram was mainly determined by the perceived level of the patient's motivation. External motivation sometimes took the form of threats of bodily harm or death caused by drinking. Some participants regarded relapse as confirmation of poor motivation and even a valid reason for terminating the doctor-patient relationship.

conclusionDoctors perceive disulfiram as a psychological tool to induce motivation through creating fear of drinking. Failure and success are perceived as related to the level of motivation. These perceptions could be unfair as biological factors in inter-patient variability in response are ignored.

Indexed as

Attitude of Health PersonnelAlcohol DeterrentsAlcoholismCross-Sectional StudiesDisulfiramHumansMotivationPhysician-Patient RelationsQualitative ResearchRecurrenceSecondary PreventionSouth AfricaSurveys and QuestionnairesAlcohol DeterrentsDisulfiram

Identifiers

PMID27380787
PMCPMC4926719
OpenAlexW2436329870

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.