A review of the clinical use of disulfiram and calcium carbimide in alcoholism treatment.

The role of disulfiram and calcium carbimide in alcoholism treatment is currently under critical review. Evidence supporting the efficacy of these drugs is unclear: although many alcoholism therapists are of the opinion that the alcohol deterrents are useful in the treatment of the chronic alcoholic, clinical studies with disulfiram that use proper evaluation methodologies report no or only low improvement rates, and there have been no controlled studies with calcium carbimide. Although disulfiram is thought to be safe when administered in therapeutic dosages, toxicity can occur in alcoholics treated with this drug. Information concerning the toxicity of calcium carbimide in alcoholics is incomplete. In this article, the efficacy and toxicity of disulfiram and calcium carbimide are reviewed, and guidelines for their safe and effective use in alcoholism treatment are presented.