Disulfiram (Antabuse) Contracts in Treatment of Alcoholism By Timothy J. O’Farrell, John P. Allen, and Raye Z. Litten. The National Institute on Drug Abuse 03/28/2006
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After a brief discussion of the utility of disulfiram in alcohol dependence, the authors review strategies for increasing compliance with this medication, including these modalities:
- Using disulfiram implants
- Allowing patients a choice of methods for scheduling disulfiram
- Providing biological feedback from carbon disulfide breathalyzer tests taken at each counseling session
- Offering tangible incentives
- Contracting for compliance
- Using behavioral marital therapy
- Supervising use of medication
- Implementing a community reinforcement approach
A succinct summary of results follows, along with recommendations for future research.
Commentary
This is a carefully done, clearly written summary of the research dealing with strategies to enhance compliance to Antabuse. Moreover, the content appears to have implications for compliance enhancement in areas of medicine other than addiction treatment.