| Abstrakt: |
TO THE EDITOR:— While there is now general agreement that delirium tremens is a drug withdrawal syndrome, the drug in this case being ethanol, there is still considerable disagreement about which drugs are the most effective in its treatment. The Clinical Note by Thomas and Freedman. "Treatment of the Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome" (JAMA188:316-318 [April 20] 1964), represents some of the best evaluative work in the field. Yet this and other similar published studies raise the question of why the treatment of alcohol withdrawal differs so strikingly from the treatment of withdrawal from other drugs. Comparison with the therapy of barbiturate withdrawal is perhaps the most germane because this withdrawal syndrome is in many ways similar to that from alcohol1 and, likewise, potentially fatal2; yet, as presently treated, it has a better prognosis and lower mortality than does delirium tremens.When a patient is admitted in barbiturate |
