Incorporating phenobarbital into your symptom-based benzodiazepine alcohol withdrawal protocol in the emergency department

Approximately 8 million people are affected by alcohol use disorders, with up to 50% experiencing withdrawal symptoms. 5% of those may require treatment in the emergency department (ED) or intensive care unit (ICU) to control symptoms including seizures or delirium tremens [1,2]. At our institution,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of emergency medicine 2018-11, Vol.36 (11), p.2120-2121
Main Authors: Nelson, Amelia C., Kaucher, Kevin A., Sankoff, Jeffrey, Mintzer, David, Taub, Julie, Kehoe, Joy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alcohol
Alcohol withdrawal
Alcohols
Benzodiazepines
Diazepam
Drug dosages
Emergency medical care
Intubation
Lorazepam
Medical personnel
Mental disorders
Nursing
Patients
Phenobarbital
Ventilators
Working groups
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Summary:Approximately 8 million people are affected by alcohol use disorders, with up to 50% experiencing withdrawal symptoms. 5% of those may require treatment in the emergency department (ED) or intensive care unit (ICU) to control symptoms including seizures or delirium tremens [1,2]. At our institution, a multidisciplinary working group including emergency medicine (EM) and internal medicine physicians, EM nurse managers, and EM clinical pharmacists met frequently to coordinate the process. Based on our analysis, PB can be safely incorporated into an ED based alcohol withdrawal protocol using a multidisciplinary approach.Source of support None.Prior presentations Poster presentation, American College of Clinical Pharmacists (ACCP) Annual Meeting 2017, Phoenix, AZ.
ISSN:0735-6757
1532-8171
DOI:10.1016/j.ajem.2018.03.049