Naltrexone And Alcoholism Treatment
Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series 28

What Is a TIP?

Treatment Improvement Protocols (TIPs) are best practice guidelines for the treatment of substance abuse, provided as a service of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT). CSAT's Office of Evaluation, Scientific Analysis and Synthesis draws on the experience and knowledge of clinical, research, and administrative experts to produce the TIPs, which are distributed to a growing number of facilities and individuals across the country. The audience for the TIPs is expanding beyond public and private substance abuse treatment facilities as alcohol and other substance abuse disorders are increasingly recognized as a major problem.

The TIPs Editorial Advisory Board, a distinguished group of substance abuse experts and professionals in such related fields as primary care, mental health, and social services, works with the State Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Directors to generate topics for the TIPs based on the field's current needs for information and guidance.

After selecting a topic, CSAT invites staff from pertinent Federal agencies and national organizations to a Resource Panel that recommends specific areas of focus as well as resources that should be considered in developing the content of the TIP. Then recommendations are communicated to a Consensus Panel composed of non-Federal experts on the topic who have been nominated by their peers. This Panel participates in a series of discussions; the information and recommendations on which they reach consensus form the foundation of the TIP. The members of each Consensus Panel represent substance abuse treatment programs, hospitals, community health centers, counseling programs, criminal justice and child welfare agencies, and private practitioners. A Panel Chair (or Co-Chairs) ensures that the guidelines mirror the results of the group's collaboration.

A large and diverse group of experts closely reviews the draft document. Once the changes recommended by these field reviewers have been incorporated, the TIP is prepared for publication, in print and online. The TIPs can be accessed via the Internet on the National Library of Medicine's home page at the URL: http://text.nlm.nih.gov. The move to electronic media also means that the TIPs can be updated more easily so they continue to provide the field with state-of-the-art information.

Although each TIP strives to include an evidence base for the practices it recommends, CSAT recognizes that the field of substance abuse treatment is evolving, and published research frequently lags behind the innovations pioneered in the field. A major goal of each TIP is to convey "front-line" information quickly but responsibly. For this reason, recommendations proffered in the TIP are attributed to either Panelists' clinical experience or the literature. If there is research to support a particular approach, citations are provided.

This TIP, Naltrexone and Alcoholism Treatment, presents current knowledge about the use of naltrexone, an opioid antagonist medication first synthesized in the 1960s and subsequently developed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). This medicine was initially developed to treat opiate addiction. Subsequently, research sponsored by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, which research is still ongoing, found that naltrexone can help prevent relapse to alcohol use disorder when combined with traditional treatment modalities. Naltrexone, when combined with appropriate psychosocial interventions, relieves the craving for alcohol (and opiates) and decreases the relapse rate to heavy use. Naltrexone has been proven safe for most adults except pregnant or nursing women, the very obese (at doses higher than herein recommended for daily use), and probably those with acute hepatitis; women of child-bearing potential must be tested monthly for pregnancy.

This TIP describes the medication itself, its mode of action, possible common adverse effects, and interactions with other medications. A separate chapter on the clinical use of naltrexone presents guidelines for selecting patients who may benefit from naltrexone and for starting and maintaining these patients on naltrexone. Issues for program managers and administrators, including staff education and procedures for getting new drugs on health care system formularies, are presented in appendixes.

As naltrexone is used more widely, alcohol treatment programs will continue to be a source of important data about its use, and this TIP offers suggestions for research in several areas. Funding for the study of treatment and outcomes is available periodically from NIDA, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, SAMHSA, and other Federal agencies.

This TIP represents another step by CSAT toward its goal of bringing national leadership to bear in the effort to improve substance abuse treatment in the United States.

Other TIPs may be ordered by contacting the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI), (800) 729-6686 or (301) 468-2600; TDD (for hearing impaired), (800) 487-4889. TIPs are also available through the National Library of Medicine's home page at http://text.nlm.nih.gov.