More than 20 million people in the United States meet the criteria for substance use disorder, leading to $600 billion in health care expenditures annually. Despite this growing problem, only one in eight people with substance use disorder receives targeted care. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Defense (VA/DoD) published updated clinical practice guidelines for managing substance use disorders, based on a systematic review.

Screening for Unhealthy Substance Use

ALCOHOL USE

Many people have risky drinking habits without meeting criteria for alcohol use disorder. Screening for unhealthy alcohol use is recommended based on evidence for patients who do not have alcohol use disorder. Brief interventions for these patients help reduce alcohol consumption and improve health outcomes.

The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test–Consumption (AUDIT-C) and the Single-Item Alcohol Screening Questionnaire (SASQ) are the recommended tools for assessing unhealthy alcohol use in primary care (Table 1). The AUDIT-C provides more information on normal and heavy drinking, yet requires more time to administer and score. The SASQ is a single question and easy to use within a patient encounter.

For positive screening results in patients who do not meet criteria for alcohol use disorder based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed., a brief intervention about alcohol-related risks and advice on abstaining or reducing consumption to daily or weekly recommendations should be considered. Short behavioral interventions decrease the mean number of drinks per week and heavy drinking episodes, while increasing the percentage of patients whose alcohol consumption is within recommended limits. Benefits are similar after interventions lasting five to 20 minutes, given by physicians or psychologists and provided in the clinic, emergency department, or inpatient ward.

When substance use disorders, including alcohol, are diagnosed, there are no evidence-based criteria to guide treatment location. The American Society of Addiction Medicine has proposed assessing six dimensions of substance abuse, but the criteria have not been verified.

DRUG USE

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening for unhealthy drug use in adults if resources for diagnosis and treatment are available, although reductions in drug use occur primarily in patients who seek care. Drug use disorder screening does not appear to increase treatment program enrollment. Brief interventions for unhealthy drug use do not appear to reduce drug use.

Alcohol Use Disorder

Alcohol use disorder affects 14.5 million people in the United States, and annually more than 95,000 deaths are related to alcohol use.

TREATING ALCOHOL WITHDRAWAL

Alcohol withdrawal is a risk after cessation of consistent alcohol use. Withdrawal symptoms are often graded by the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol-revised version (CIWA-Ar). Because withdrawal delirium has a mortality rate of up to 4% among hospitalized patients, inpatient treatment should be considered for people with CIWA-Ar scores of 20 or more, a history of delirium tremens or withdrawal seizures, complicating medical conditions, comorbid substance use, lack of success with outpatient care, inability to complete an outpatient program, active psychosis, or cognitive impairment. Benzodiazepines are the preferred therapy for patients with CIWA-Ar scores of 10 or more because they reduce the risk of withdrawal seizures by 84% compared with placebo (risk ratio = 0.16; 95% CI, 0.04 to 0.69).

If withdrawal symptoms are less severe, treatment options (Table 2) include gabapentin (Neurontin), carbamazepine (Tegretol), and valproic acid (Depakene). All appear to have similar effectiveness compared with benzodiazepines. These medications may be useful if there are concerns about inadequate monitoring, a history of sedative abuse, or adverse reactions to benzodiazepines.

MAINTAINING ABSTINENCE

For maintenance pharmacotherapy in alcohol use disorder, naltrexone (Revia, Vivitrol) and topiramate (Topamax) have the best evidence. Naltrexone, delivered daily as an oral dose or monthly as an intramuscular injection, reduces drinking days, heavy drinking, and return to heavy drinking. Topiramate improves abstinence and reduces heavy drinking. In addition to being off label for alcohol use disorder, topiramate often requires more titration. For patients with comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder, topiramate can reduce symptom severity and alcohol use.

Acamprosate and disulfiram (Antabuse) have less evidence for improving outcomes. Acamprosate reduces return to drinking after abstinence but has limited adherence because of large tablet size and three times daily dosing. Disulfiram is only more effective than placebo in open-label trials, especially those with witnessed medication ingestion. Disulfiram rarely causes hepatotoxicity, which is worsened with alcohol use. The benefit of gabapentin for maintenance in alcohol use disorder is uncertain.