The European NEAT program: an integrated approach using acamprosate and psychosocial support for the prevention of relapse in alcohol-dependent patients with a statistical modeling of therapy success prediction.

Background: A multicenter, prospective study was conducted in five European countries to observe outcome in alcohol misusers treated for 24 weeks with acamprosate and various psychosocial support techniques, within the setting of standard patient care.

Methods: Patients diagnosed as alcohol dependent using DSM-III-R criteria were treated, for 24 weeks, with acamprosate and appropriate psychosocial support. Potential predictor variables were recorded at inclusion. Drinking behavior was monitored throughout; the proportion of cumulative abstinence days was the principal outcome measure. The influence of baseline clinical and demographic variables on outcome was assessed using multiple regression analysis. Adverse events were recorded systematically.

Results: A total of 1289 patients were recruited; 1230 took at least one dose of the drug and provided at least one set of follow-up data; 543 (42.1%)patients were observed for the full 24-week period. The overall proportion of cumulative abstinence days was 0.48. Multiple physical and psychiatric comorbidities and a history of drug addiction were negatively correlated with outcome, as were, to a lesser extent, multiple previous episodes of detoxification, unemployment, and living alone. Older age and stable employment were positively associated with outcome. The difference in the unadjusted proportion of cumulative abstinence days between countries was significant ( < 0.001) but less so when adjusted for the predictive factors identified in the multivariate model ( < 0.019). Overall, outcome was not influenced by the nature of the psychosocial support provided. Adverse events were generally mild, with gastrointestinal disorders, which occurred in 21.5% of patients, being the most frequent.

Conclusions: This open-label study confirms the efficacy and safety of acamprosate in the treatment of alcohol dependence in the setting of standard patient care. Treatment benefit was observed irrespective of the nature of the psychosocial support provided. Predictors of the response to treatment were identified; their heterogeneous distribution within the study population explained, at least in part, the differences in outcome between countries.