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Recommendations for the Design and Analysis of Treatment Trials for Alcohol Use Disorders
Author(s) -
Witkiewitz Katie,
Finney John W.,
Harris Alex H.S.,
Kivlahan Daniel R.,
Kranzler Henry R.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/acer.12800
Subject(s) - alcohol use disorder , clinical trial , psychological intervention , clinical study design , medicine , abstinence , research design , narrative review , randomized controlled trial , intensive care medicine , psychiatry , alcohol , surgery , social science , biochemistry , chemistry , pathology , sociology
Background Over the past 60 years, the view that “alcoholism” is a disease for which the only acceptable goal of treatment is abstinence has given way to the recognition that alcohol use disorders ( AUD s) occur on a continuum of severity, for which a variety of treatment options are appropriate. However, because the available treatments for AUD s are not effective for everyone, more research is needed to develop novel and more efficacious treatments to address the range of AUD severity in diverse populations. Here we offer recommendations for the design and analysis of alcohol treatment trials, with a specific focus on the careful conduct of randomized clinical trials of medications and nonpharmacological interventions for AUD s. Methods This paper provides a narrative review of the quality of published clinical trials and recommendations for the optimal design and analysis of treatment trials for AUD s. Results Despite considerable improvements in the design of alcohol clinical trials over the past 2 decades, many studies of AUD treatments have used faulty design features and statistical methods that are known to produce biased estimates of treatment efficacy. Conclusions The published statistical and methodological literatures provide clear guidance on methods to improve clinical trial design and analysis. Consistent use of state‐of‐the‐art design features and analytic approaches will enhance the internal and external validity of treatment trials for AUD s across the spectrum of severity. The ultimate result of this attention to methodological rigor is that better treatment options will be identified for patients with an AUD .