1990-1991 survey of pharmacotherapies used in the treatment of cocaine abuse.

In order to assess the usefulness of pharmacotherapeutic agents in cocaine treatment, all 3,631 physician members of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) were surveyed. Five hundred and two physicians indicated use of pharmacotherapies, involving treatment experiences with approximately 79,760 patients for cocaine detoxification, and with 37,166 patients for cocaine abstinence maintenance. For both detoxification and abstinence maintenance, the four most commonly prescribed medications were amantadine, bromocriptine, desipramine, and l-tryptophan. As expected, these four medications were also the preferred treatment by a majority of physicians expressing any preference. Some relatively new medications are also being tried for the treatment of cocaine abuse, specifically carbamazepine, fluoxetine, and Tropamine.