Fast Five Quiz: Alcohol Use Disorder

Guidelines from the APA recommend that naltrexone or acamprosate should be offered to patients with moderate to severe alcohol use disorder who prefer pharmacotherapy or who have not responded to pharmacologic treatments alone. The APA suggests that topiramate or gabapentin be offered to patients with moderate to severe alcohol use disorder who are intolerant to or have not responded to naltrexone and acamprosate or who prefer topiramate or gabapentin.

The APA recommends that antidepressant medications (eg, sertraline, paroxetine) not be used for treatment of alcohol use disorder unless a comorbid disorder for which an antidepressant is an indicated treatment is identified. The APA also recommends against the use of benzodiazepines (eg, alprazolam, diazepam) unless treating acute alcohol withdrawal or a co-occurring disorder for which a benzodiazepine is an indicated treatment.

Treatment of a patient with an alcohol use disorder often includes talk therapy (individual or group), as well as medications (as indicated) and addressing any coexisting metal health disorders.

This Fast Five Quiz was excerpted and adapted from the Medscape Drugs & Diseases article Alcoholism.

Follow Medscape on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube

Editor's Recommendations

Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.

Cite this: Stephen Soreff. Fast Five Quiz: Alcohol Use Disorder - Medscape - Sep 02, 2020.

Commenting is limited to medical professionals. To comment please Log-in.

Comments on Medscape are moderated and should be professional in tone and on topic. You must declare any conflicts of interest related to your comments and responses. Please see our Commenting Guide for further information. We reserve the right to remove posts at our sole discretion.

My Alerts