Use of court-ordered supervised disulfiram therapy at DVA medical centers in the United States.
Having reported high adherence to court-mandated disulfiram treatment, we hypothesized that other Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) medical centers would report frequent use of this modality. Telephone interviews with DVA substance abuse clinics in 48 of the 50 states matched the national DVA frequencies. Phone survey responders reported disulfiram prescription as never/rarely 63%, sometimes 32%, and often 5%, while court-ordered disulfiram was used never/rarely 95%, sometimes 3%, and often 2%. Nationally, disulfiram prescriptions covered only 0.07% of all veterans seen. These data suggest a need for a re-evaluation of disulfiram as an underused treatment for alcohol dependence.
Martin
Brandon
B
Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO 80220, USA.
Mangum
Laura
L
Beresford
Thomas P
TP
D000427:Alcohol Deterrents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004221:Disulfiram / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006787:Hospitals, Veterans; D006801:Humans; D007603:Jurisprudence; D008297:Male; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs
D000427:Alcohol Deterrents; D004221:Disulfiram