Results of this review do not provide sufficient evidence in favour of anticonvulsants for the treatment of AWS. There are some suggestions that carbamazepine may actually be more effective in treating some aspects of alcohol withdrawal when compared to benzodiazepines, the current first-line regimen for alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Anticonvulsants seem to have limited side effects, although adverse effects are not rigorously reported in the analysed trials.
Comparison of chlormethiazole (Heminevrin) and chlordiazepoxide (Librium) in the treatment of acute alcohol withdrawal.
This study was carried out to compare the efficacy of chlormethiazole and chlordiazepoxide in the treatment of acute alcohol withdrawal syndrome in 40 patients. Repeated biochemical, clinical, and psychophysiological measurements were obtained in a randomized, double-blind design in which one group of patients received chlormethiazole and a second group received chlordiazepoxide over a period of 7 days. Analysis indicated both drugs to be of equivalent potency and were equally well tolerated by patients. The more severe aspects of withdrawal were brought under control within the first 4 days of treatment. However, even at 7 days, there still persisted some symptoms attributable to the withdrawal from alcohol.