OR05-3PHARMACOTHERAPY FOR ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE: STATUS OF ACAMPROSATE USE AT OUR CENTER

Instruction. For the last several decades, only two drugs, cyanamid and disulfiram, have been used to treat alcohol dependence (AD) in Japan. Acamprosate became available for clinical use in Japan in May 2013. Here, we report the status of acamprosate use at our hospital. Methods. We investigated 471 inpatients who were hospitalized at our hospital between June 1 and December 31, 2013, as well as 357 outpatients who came to our hospital during a specific ten-day period in 2013. We categorized the patients according to sex, age, combination drug, and administration period. We also reviewed the patient counseling notes written by pharmacists and examined the adverse effects of acamprosate in 117 male patients who were in the rehabilitation phase. Result. Acamprosate was prescribed to 54% of the inpatients. Acamprosate alone was prescribed in approximately half of the patients, while a combination of disulfiram and acamprosate was prescribed in 25% and disulfiram alone was prescribed in another 25%. The most common adverse effect was diarrhea (10%). Overall, 75% of the patients did not have any adverse effects while receiving medication. Conclusion. Almost all the inpatients continued to take acamprosate throughout their stay at the hospital, with minimal adverse effects of a low severity. The major treatment for outpatients continues to be disulfiram, but physicians are positively considering the combined use of acamprosate. We foresee acamprosate as becoming the drug of first choice for the treatment of AD.