Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38707981›Full record

ArticleJournal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open2024

Load and go: Assessing safety outcomes of patients discharged from the emergency department after receiving phenobarbital for alcohol withdrawal.

Natalie E Ebeling-Koning, David Goodman, Alexandra M Amaducci, Erin S Smith, Ryan M Surmaitis, Kenneth D Katz, Andrew L Koons, Derek J Fikse, Matthew Ferdock, Marna Rayl Greenberg and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Supporting Emergency Department Patients Experiencing Homelessness.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. 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

11 authors.

Natalie E Ebeling-KoningDepartment of Emergency and Hospital Medicine Lehigh Valley Health Network/USF Morsani College of Medicine, Lehigh Valley Campus Allentown Pennsylvania USA.
David GoodmanDepartment of Emergency and Hospital Medicine Lehigh Valley Health Network/USF Morsani College of Medicine, Lehigh Valley Campus Allentown Pennsylvania USA.
Alexandra M AmaducciDepartment of Emergency and Hospital Medicine Lehigh Valley Health Network/USF Morsani College of Medicine, Lehigh Valley Campus Allentown Pennsylvania USA.
Erin S SmithDepartment of Family Medicine Lehigh Valley Health Network/USF Morsani College of Medicine Lehigh Valley Campus Allentown Pennsylvania USA.
Ryan M SurmaitisDepartment of Emergency and Hospital Medicine Lehigh Valley Health Network/USF Morsani College of Medicine, Lehigh Valley Campus Allentown Pennsylvania USA.
Kenneth D KatzDepartment of Emergency and Hospital Medicine Lehigh Valley Health Network/USF Morsani College of Medicine, Lehigh Valley Campus Allentown Pennsylvania USA.
Andrew L KoonsDepartment of Emergency and Hospital Medicine Lehigh Valley Health Network/USF Morsani College of Medicine, Lehigh Valley Campus Allentown Pennsylvania USA.
Derek J FikseDepartment of Emergency and Hospital Medicine Lehigh Valley Health Network/USF Morsani College of Medicine, Lehigh Valley Campus Allentown Pennsylvania USA.
Matthew FerdockDepartment of Emergency and Hospital Medicine Lehigh Valley Health Network/USF Morsani College of Medicine, Lehigh Valley Campus Allentown Pennsylvania USA.
Marna Rayl GreenbergDepartment of Emergency and Hospital Medicine Lehigh Valley Health Network/USF Morsani College of Medicine, Lehigh Valley Campus Allentown Pennsylvania USA.
Matthew D CookDepartment of Emergency and Hospital Medicine Lehigh Valley Health Network/USF Morsani College of Medicine, Lehigh Valley Campus Allentown Pennsylvania USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objectives: Phenobarbital (PB) is a long-acting GABA A-agonist with favorable pharmacokinetics (long half-life and duration of effect) that allows effective treatment of alcohol withdrawal (AW) after administration of a single loading dose. Current evidence suggests that in the setting of AW, PB administration may be associated with decreased hospital admissions and hospital length of stay. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety outcomes of AW patients who were treated and discharged from the emergency department (ED) after receiving PB for AW. Methods: This retrospective chart review included a convenience sample of 33 AW patients who presented to four EDs within an 18-month span. Descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) were used to describe demographics, distribution of resources and referrals, and the safety outcomes of PB administration for low-risk AW patients. Patients were selected for inclusion in consultation with a medical toxicologist, treated with PB, and discharged from the ED. Electronic medical records were utilized to gather information on the patient cohort. Results: All patients were treated with at least a single loading dose of 5‒10 mg/kg (ideal body weight) of intravenous or per os PB during their ED stay. Only one patient had an unanticipated event after discharge, which was related to driving against advice. Two additional patients had ED revisits for recurrent alcohol use within 72 h, and 16 patients had recurrent alcohol use within 30 days. All 33 patients were provided with resources for linkage to treatment. None required hospital admission. Conclusion: ED PB "load and go" may be a safe, effective AW treatment that could help treat AW, facilitate linkage to specific rehabilitation treatments, and decrease hospital admissions.

Indexed as

phenobarbitalsubstance withdrawaltreatment outcome

Identifiers

PMID38707981
PMCPMC11066564

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.