Use of Baclofen in Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome

• In recent years, baclofen has demonstrated potential to reduce symptoms of severe AWS in people with alcoholism
• In one of a study baclofen 30mg/day (in divided dose) was given consequently and compared with another group taking diazepam. The study concluded that baclofen was comparable to diazepam in treatment of AWS.

Cochrane Recommendations

• Regarding the efficacy, one study found that both baclofen and diazepam significantly decreased the CIWA-Ar score, without any significant difference between the two interventions. The other study showed no significant difference in CIWA-Ar score between baclofen and placebo, but did show a significantly decreased dependence on high-dose benzodiazepines with baclofen compared toplacebo.
• Only one study reported safety outcomes, finding no side effects in either the baclofen group or the diazepam group
• The evidence for recommending baclofen for AWS is insufficient. We require more well-designed RCTs to prove its efficacy and safety

Conclusion:

• Not recommended as the evidence are mixed compared to Gold standard

References:

1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16490478
2. http://www.cochrane.org/CD008502/ADDICTN_baclofen-for-alcohol-withdrawal-syndrome
3. http://www.aafp.org/afp/2013/1101/p589.html#afp20131101p589-b37