What is meant by the term, “resistant alcohol withdrawal (RAW)?”
According to the cited reference, the term describes patients with severe or complicated alcohol withdrawal signs and symptoms despite having received high doses of benzodiazepines. There is not yet agreement in the field regarding the precise amount of benzodiazepines required before considering a patient to be in RAW, but various studies have used the cutoff of 200 mg diazepam in 4 hours, 40 mg intravenous diazepam in 1 hour, 50 mg intravenous diazepam in 1 hour. This phenomenon is also referred to as Refractory Alcohol Withdrawal, Benzodiazepine-Resistant Alcohol Withdrawal, and Treatment-Resistant Alcohol Withdrawal.
Lindsay, Dawn L. PhD; Freedman, Kenneth MD, DFASAM; Jarvis, Margaret MD, DFASAM; Lincoln, Piper MS; Williams, Jessica MPH; Nelson, Lewis S. MD, FASAM; Safarian, Taleen BA Executive Summary of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Clinical Practice Guideline on Alcohol Withdrawal Management, Journal of Addiction Medicine: September/October 2020 – Volume 14 – Issue 5 – p 376-392 doi: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000732