Harmen Beurmanjer

71 Tapering GHB or BZDs for Detoxification in GHB-Dependent Patients 5 Objective withdrawal symptoms LMM showed that withdrawal symptoms (OWS) scored by the staff decreased over time during detoxification in both groups (main effect of time: F(6,50)=6.7, p<.001). Patients in the pharmaceutical GHB group showed lower severity of withdrawal symptoms (mean=3.72; SD=2.56) compared to the BZD group (mean=8.05; SD=4.68), indicating less severe withdrawal in the GHB group (main effect of group: F(1,102)=39.2, p<.001), see Figure 2. There was an interaction effect between time and group (F(6,50)=3.0, p<.05), indicating that the observed withdrawal symptoms pattern differs between the two treatments over time. This interaction effect is mainly driven by an increase in withdrawal severity on day 3 of admission in the BZD group, see figure 2. Since BZD tapering lasted Figure 1 Experienced subjective withdrawal (SWS) during detoxification in patients receiving BZD tapering or pharmaceutical GHB tapering. Figure 2 Observed objective withdrawal (OWS) during detoxification in patients receiving BZD tapering or pharmaceutical GHB tapering.