The efficiency of a carbamazepine-mianserin combination scheme in opiate detoxification.
A recent comparative randomized double-blind study has suggested the utility of a carbamazepine/mianserin combination as a treatment for opiate withdrawal. The aim of the present study was to explore the feasibility and efficiency of this combination under naturalistic conditions. Five hundred and fifty mostly polysubstance abusing patients treated with a standardized scheme combining carbamazepine and mianserin were assessed with regard to deviations to the protocol, used co-medications and retention in treatment. Three hundred and sixty three patients (66.0%) received the carbamazepine/mianserin combination as specified by the standardized protocol. In 350 patients (63.7%) the whole 10 days was completed. The most frequently used p.r.n. medications were for anxiety (47.5%) and insomnia (54.5%). The treatment of opiate withdrawal with a carbamazepine/mianserin combination scheme in an inpatient setting seems to be feasible and applicable with few adaptations to most patients, and may represent an interesting treatment option for multidrug users.
Division of Substance Abuse, University Department of Adult Psychiatry, Hôpital de Cery, CH-1008 Prilly-Lausanne, Switzerland. Daniele.Zullino@inst.hospvd.ch
Daniele F
DF
Zullino
Sonia
S
Krenz
Bernard
B
Favrat
Grégoire
G
Zimmermann
Gilles
G
Bertschy
Jacques
J
Besson
D000328:Adult; D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002220:Carbamazepine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008803:Mianserin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D008803:Mianserin; D002220:Carbamazepine