The Authors’ Own Words: We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.
Darius A. Rastegar, MD; Dinah Applewhite, MD; Anika A. H. Alvanzo, MD, MS; Christopher Welsh, MD; Timothy Niessen, MD, MPH; & Edward S. Chen, MD
Substance Abuse Vol. 38, Iss. 4, 2017
“Treatment of alcohol withdrawal requires assessment of the severity to guide the administration of medication. The most commonly used instrument (CIWA-Ar) is cumbersome to use. Our study shows that a simple protocol using symptom-triggered dosing of benzodiazepines guided by a 5-item scale (BAWS) is effective in the setting of a dedicated unit treating patients with mild-moderate withdrawal. Its use on other units, with patients with more severe withdrawal and concurrent active/unstable medical and psychiatric co-morbidities needs to be studied further.”
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