AIMS:
Evaluation of the efficacy of gabapentin in patients undergoing out-patient treatment for opiate withdrawal.
DESIGN:
A 3-week double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of adjunctive gabapentin in methadone-assisted detoxification (MAD).
SETTING:
Specialized Addictive Behaviors Unit, an out-patient unit for the treatment of patients with an addictive disorder serving the city of Isfahan (Iran).
PARTICIPANTS:
Forty out-patients, 37 males and three females, aged 21-61 years, who met DSM-IV criteria for opiate dependence.
INTERVENTION:
Random assignment of subjects to receive adjunctive treatment with either gabapentin (900 mg/day) or placebo under double-blind conditions.
MEASUREMENTS:
Severity of subjective withdrawal symptoms using the Subjective Opiate Withdrawal Scale at six stages.
FINDINGS:
Despite the superiority of gabapentin on controlling some of withdrawal symptoms, no significant differences were reported between two groups.
CONCLUSIONS:
Dosage of 900 mg/day of gabapentin is not significantly superior to placebo in controlling opiate withdrawal symptoms.
2008-09-11
Eng.
Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. kheirabadi [at] bsrc.mul.ac.ir
Addiction. 2008 Sep;103(9):1495-9
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