Outpatient alcohol detoxification: initial findings on 564 patients

The authors report on a large-scale outpatient alcohol detoxification program, presenting a clinical rationale for outpatient detoxification, describing the program method, and giving initial evaluation data on the first 564 patients. Only 47 percent of the patients required detoxification, and only 19 percent of these required inpatient care. The majority of the patients successfully completed outpatient detoxification; half of these continued in the related rehabilitation program. There were no fatalities. The authors believe the results support the utility of outpatient detoxification as a cost-effective alternative to inpatient detoxification for the majority of acute alcoholics.