Psychotropic analgesic nitrous oxide for treating alcohol withdrawal in an outpatient setting.

In a retrospective study of 500 patients we present evidence that psychotropic analgesic nitrous oxide (PAN) can be used safely and successfully as an out-patient treatment for the AWS in the vast majority of cases. A feature of the PAN therapy is the rapidity of recovery of patients within 60 minutes; which is in stark contrast to that found when traditional benzodiazepine medication regimens are used. Our work confirms earlier findings confined to in-patients. Importantly, the requirements for addictive sedative medications is also dramatically reduced, greatly diminishing the dangers of secondary addiction. In a small number of cases PAN can be used to treat alcohol craving, which may prevent relapses through its positive effects on reducing craving. The promising, rapid anti-craving effects of PAN would seem to require further investigation to establish when it is likely to be of benefit in preventing relapse. In order to maximize the benefit of the PAN treatment to both patient and physician it is essential for the physician to undergo a short hands-on training course.