Iber F L, Lee K, Lacoursiere R, Fuller R
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1987 Jun;11(3):301-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1987.tb01312.x.
Alcoholic subjects (453) were randomly assigned to disulfiram or placebo therapy and followed for up to 12 months for drinking. Drinking status was determined from interviews of the subject and a household contact each 2 months and from the analysis of eight blood samples or 39 urines submitted at intervals during the year. Liver status was monitored each 2 months by obtaining serum alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin, and AST. Sensitive criteria were arbitrarily selected to identify about 1/5 of the patients with episodic elevations of liver tests. There was no relationship of liver test elevations to disulfiram treatment. However, the elevated AST related significantly to drinking status (p = 0.004) as did elevated bilirubin (p = 0.044), but not elevated alkaline phosphatase (p = 0.146). Two hundred one patients had liver test elevations at least one time and were continued on drug, four were dropped. One hundred seventy-nine of these patients were drinking, 22 were abstinent, and four were indeterminant. It is concluded that patients on disulfiram with minor liver test abnormalities are usually drinking.
