title: Outpatient treatment of 'crack' cocaine smoking with flupenthixol decanoate. A preliminary report.
abstract: "Crack" cocaine abuse often produces severe cocaine dependence that is refractory to available pharmacological and outpatient psychotherapeutic treatments. We conducted two preliminary investigations evaluating the efficacy of flupenthixol decanoate, a depot xanthene requiring infrequent intramuscular administration, in the treatment of cocaine withdrawal. Ten outpatient crack cocaine smokers with poor prognoses were administered flupenthixol decanoate in an open-label, open-ended trial. Flupenthixol decanoate was well tolerated and appeared to decrease cocaine craving and use markedly and rapidly, producing a 260% increase in the average time retained in treatment among these subjects. These promising but preliminary data, combined with the magnitude of problems presented by crack, warrant rapid, expanded double-blind assessment of flupenthixol decanoate in cocaine-abuse treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn 06519.
authors.forename: F H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Gawin
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Humblestone
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D003042:Cocaine; D005260:Female; D005475:Flupenthixol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013892:Thioxanthenes / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D013892:Thioxanthenes; C007761:flupenthixol decanoate; D005475:Flupenthixol; D003042:Cocaine