Abordaje terapéutico de los alcoholismos

Resumo

Objectives: to provide a current and comprehensive approach for the treatment of alcoholism. Material and methods: to review from a clinical point of view the different, currently existing, pharmacological and psychotherapeutical approaches. Results: the therapeutic approach to the alcoholic patients involves two phases: detoxification and maintenance of abstinence. In the first, the principal aim is the treatment of the withdrawal syndrome, and the most widely employed drugs are: clometiazole, tetrabamate, benzodiazepines, and tiapride. During the process of maintaining abstinence it is also necessary to help the patient to organise his life without alcohol consumption. The employment of «anticraving» drugs together with the aversive drugs and an adequate psychosocial focus are the keys to consolidating the behaviour of alcoholic patients. Conclusions: the most effective approach in the current treatment of alcoholism is the combination of pharmacological and psychosocial therapies, both in the detoxification and in the maintenance and rehabilitation states. The use of new «anticraving» drugs has led to a therapeutical environment full of hope and expectation for the future.