Investigating the combination of drugs in the treatment of alcohol dependence: a meta-analysis and meta-regression study.

• Grant number: 24/05632-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2024
• End date: June 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Psychiatry
• Principal Investigator: João Mauricio Castaldelli Maia
• Grantee: João Vitor Guimarães Mandaji
• Host Institution: Centro Universitário FMABC (FMABC). Santo André , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a psychiatric disorder with a high prevalence among substance use disorders. Due to its multifactorial pathophysiology, the treatment of this disorder resorts to various clinical approaches, one of which is combined pharmacotherapy. Despite this, meta-analytical studies examining the benefit of these combinations are still scarce and require further study. Objectives: To summarize the current clinical evidence on the use of combined pharmacological interventions for the treatment of alcohol use disorder. Methods: Randomized clinical trials were searched in the PubMed, Clinical Trials.gov, Cochrane Library, SciElo, Biblioteca Virutal em Saúde and Google Scholar databases using the key terms "((alcoholism OR alcohol use disorder OR alcohol abuse) combined pharmacotherapy)", filtered by the category "Randomised Clinical Trial". Reports of original clinical trials published in English and Portuguese will be included in this study. For data collection, the PRISMA statement, MOOSE guidelines and the JBI critical appraisal tool will be followed. For data analysis, a heterogeneity test and the leave-one-out meta-analysis method will be applied. Finally, Egger's regression method will be applied for meta-regression. Expected results: From the analysis of the clinical trials it is expected to find results suggestive of the existence of benefit in the combined use of drugs from different functional classes for the treatment of substance use disorder.