Posted by pseudoname on November 25, 2005, at 8:42:13
NEW YORK— The use of the antipsychotic drug Seroquel® (quetiapine) during opioid cessation appears to help relieve the symptoms of withdrawal, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
Dr. Harold B. Pinkofsky and colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania, studied patients undergoing outpatient detoxification from opioids.
The patients were initially given eight 25-mg tablets of Seroquel. They were told to take 1 or 2 tablets every 4 hours as needed for symptoms of withdrawal or craving. Doses were increased if the drug was tolerated and the patient reported a benefit.
A total of 213 patients were treated with Seroquel in the clinic. Of these, 41 percent completed the program, with at least 5 days of abstinence. After some initial success with Seroquel, the patients were asked to complete a medication questionnaire for quality-assurance purposes.
Of the 107 patients who completed the survey, 79 (74 percent) reported that Seroquel helped reduce cravings for opioids and 52 (49 percent) said that it helped reduce withdrawal-associated anxiety. A reduction in pain was reported by 24 patients (22 percent), and 22 patients (21 percent) reported that Seroquel helped alleviate insomnia. Fourteen patients (13 percent) reported an improvement in appetite.
Four subjects said that Seroquel had no benefit. Seven patients were not able to tolerate the drug because of side effects. The patients received an average Seroquel dose of 206 mg/day.
"It appears that (Seroquel) may play a role in opioid detoxification, although the...mode of action is not known," Pinkofsky and colleagues write. "The results of this analysis suggest the need for further investigation."
SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, October 2005.
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