The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) have joined forces and issued an evidence-based clinical practice guideline on the management of stimulant use disorder (StUD).
"This clinical practice guideline by ASAM and AAAP is the first of its kind that synthesizes prevention, intoxication management, withdrawal, harm reduction, evidence-based medications, and psychosocial treatment in a single, comprehensive guideline that speaks to the best practices for treating StUD," Brian Hurley MD, MBA, president of ASAM, told Medscape Medical News.
"The most important takeaways are that we should have universal screening for StUD, and that it’s treatable by medications that can be combined with effective psychosocial interventions as well as harm reduction and contingency management [CM] strategies, when appropriate," he said.
The guideline was published on online November 7 on ASAM’s website.
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"StUD has long posed a threat to the health and well-being of Americans," Hurley said. "We have good treatment options for opioid use disorder [OUD] and alcohol use disorder [AUD], but there has been a huge gap between what research has indicated is effective and what’s actually in place in clinical practice for StUD."
Although "there are no FDA-approved treatments for StUD, medications approved for other indications can be effective for StUD as well," he said.
