Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci.
2021 May;19(2):282-293. 10.9758/cpn.2021.19.2.282.
Effectiveness of N-acetylcysteine in Treating Clinical Symptoms of Substance Abuse and Dependence: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Primary Medicine, Taipei Medical University Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan
- 2Department of Medical Education, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
- 3Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- 4Department of Psychiatry, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- 5Center for Evidence-Based Health Care and Shared Decision Making Resource Center, Department of Medical Research, Taipei Medical University Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan
- 6Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- 7Cochrane Taiwan, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- 8Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Taipei Medical University Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan
- 9Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- 10Department of Dentistry, Taipei Medical University Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan
- KMID: 2516180
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.9758/cpn.2021.19.2.282
Abstract
Objective
Treatment with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is believed to reduce the clinical symptoms among individuals with substance abuse or dependence. We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effectiveness of NAC in treating substance abuse and dependence.
Methods
PubMed, EMBASE, ClinicalTrials.gov registry, and the Cochrane Library were searched for trials published before June 2020.
Results
A total of 16 trials were analyzed. The treatment effectiveness domains assessed in this study were craving and depressive symptoms, withdrawal syndrome, adverse events, and smoking frequency. Standardized mean difference (SMD), weighted mean difference (WMD), and odds ratio (OR) were used for evaluation where appropriate. A significant decrease in craving symptoms was observed in the NAC treatment group compared with the control group (SMD, −0.67; 95% confidence interval [CI], −1.21 to 0.21). When withdrawal and depressive symptoms were considered as a single domain, the NAC treatment group demonstrated a significantly higher overall improvement than the control group (SMD, −0.35; 95% CI, −0.64 to −0.06). No between-group differences in term of the OR of adverse events (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.68 to 2.06) and a non-significant trend toward reduction in smoking frequency was observed in the NAC treatment group compared with the control group (WMD, −3.09; 95% CI, −6.50 to 0.32).
Conclusion
NAC provides certain noticeable benefits in attenuating substance craving and might help alleviate depressive symptoms and withdrawal syndrome. Precautious measures should be considered when using NAC although no difference in adverse effects was found between NAC treatment and control group.
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