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Overcoming Alcohol Addiction in Patients with Alcohol-Related Liver Disease

  • Management of Cirrhotic Patient (A Cardenas and P Tandon, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

This review provides a brief overview of key concepts in addiction medicine and provides tips and tricks as it pertains to treating patients with alcohol addiction in the setting of advanced alcohol-related liver disease (ALD).

Recent Findings

Understanding the brain disease model of addiction by both providers and patients is a vital springboard for establishing a therapeutic relationship. Despite a paucity of high-quality evidence, psychosocial treatments have withstood the test of time and still form the foundation of alcohol use disorder (AUD) treatment in advanced ALD. Despite the inescapable link between AUD) and advanced ALD, there are no FDA-approved medications for use in this special population. In this urgent subgroup, only baclofen, used off-label, has been shown to be effective for AUD in randomized controlled trials.

Summary

An integrated, multidisciplinary and longitudinal approach remains the best option for the management of AUD in advanced ALD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Division of Liver Diseases, Recanati-Miller Transplantation Institute, One Gustave Levy Place, Box 1104, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Gene Y. Im

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Im, G.Y. Overcoming Alcohol Addiction in Patients with Alcohol-Related Liver Disease. Curr Hepatology Rep 18, 73–80 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11901-019-00451-7

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