Summary

Alcohol withdrawal is a common and dangerous medical emergency. Although benzodiazepines remain the standard treatment for this condition, the use of the barbiturate phenobarbital has increased by more than 200% in the last decade with limited evidence to suggest that this practice is safe and effective. In the first large-scale study to compare phenobarbital to diazepam—a long-acting benzodiazepine—researchers found no differences in outcomes between phenobarbital and diazepam, potentially suggesting similar effectiveness. The findings appear online in JAMA Internal Medicine .

AI summaries can be wrong sometimes—always verify important details using the source article.