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Evidence summaries

Psychotropic Analgesic Nitrous Oxide (Pan) for Alcoholic Withdrawal States

Psychotropic analgesic nitrous oxide appears to be an effective treatment of the mild to moderate alcoholic withdrawal state. Level of evidence: "B"

A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1 included 5 studies with a total of 212 subjects. PAN showed improvement of symptoms (RR 1.35; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.79), of the amount and duration of sedative medication and of psychomotor function (WMD -8.71; 95% CI -13.71 to -3.71). At one hour post intervention, no significant differences were found for depression (WMD -2.40; 95% CI -8.70 to 3.89) and anxiety (WMD -3.70; 95% CI -10.53 to 3.12). None of the included studies reported any significant adverse effects of any treatment.

Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by study quality; inadequate or unclear allocation concealment.

    References

    • Gillman MA, Lichtigfeld FJ, Young TN. Psychotropic analgesic nitrous oxide for alcoholic withdrawal states. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2007 Apr 18;(2):CD005190. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords