Alcohol and alcoholism : international journal of the Medical Council on Alcoholism
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Meta Analysis Comparative Study
A critical review of pharmacoeconomic studies of acamprosate.
This review assessed the published data on the cost-effectiveness of acamprosate for the treatment of alcohol dependence. ⋯ All five studies have produced consistent results, showing the use of acamprosate, which enhances abstinence rates, to reduce the total costs of treatment and thus be dominant over other rehabilitation strategies not involving pharmacotherapy. In all of the studies, the principal cost-driver is hospitalization. Although there is a short-term increase in treatment costs associated with drug acquisition, these are recovered from long-term savings attributable to reduced hospitalization and rehabilitation costs.
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Emergency care patients have an overrepresentation of risky drinkers. Despite the evidence on the effectiveness of a short feedback on screening or self-help material, most studies performed so far have required considerable time from staff and thus been difficult to implement in the real world. The present study evaluates the effect of the screening and whether simple written advice has any additional effect on risky drinking. ⋯ Owing to the reported difficulties of integrating more time-consuming alcohol interventions in emergency departments, it is suggested that at least screening for drinking should be implemented as routine in emergency departments. More research is needed in order to establish the optimal balance between effective alcohol intervention, and acceptable time and effort requirement from staff.