Does Intensified Outpatient Treatment Improve the Outcome of Severely Alcohol Addicted Patients? A Pilot Study

Aim of the study: Disulfiram is an effective treatment for reducing relapse rates in alcohol addicts only in combination with high frequency therapeutic contacts (3 per week). Without this intensified treatment, disulfiram shows no effect. This raises the question, whether an intensified treatment is possible without administration of disulfiram, and which patient group might benefit the most from it. Methods: In this non-randomized, prospective observational study, detoxified alcohol addicts could choose between the new intensified treatment (IT, 3x/week short therapeutic contacts) and the regular treatment (RT, 1 contact every 2 weeks). Standard relapse-preventive medication (naltrexone) was offered in both groups. At baseline, consumption patterns, sociodemographic data, previous treatments, craving, anxiety and severity of alcohol dependence were assessed. During a follow-up period of 3 months, consumption patterns were collected. Results: 75 patients (41 RT, 34 IT) were included. Patients in IT were more often female and were characterized by more previous treatments, higher severity of dependence, and higher rate of anxiety. Total alcohol consumption decreased over 3 months significantly in both groups, without significant differences between groups. Conclusion: IT compliments existing treatment options and seems to be helpful, mainly in combination with naltrexone, for patients with severe alcohol dependence (especially women), who are not suitable for disulfiram treatment.