Photo Credit: Knoppper

Integrated stepped alcohol treatment with contingency management (ISAT+CM) delivered in HIV clinics modestly increased self-reported 3-week abstinence among people with HIV (PWH), according to results published in JAIDS. E. Jennifer Edelman, MD, and colleagues enrolled 120 PWH reporting untreated, unhealthy alcohol use and with phosphatidylethanol  less than 20 ng/mL to receive ISAT+CM or treatment as usual (TAU). Mean age was 59 years, 96% were men, and 83% were Black. Eight percent were lost to follow-up. The posterior mean proportion of participants with self-reported abstinence at 24 weeks was higher among those randomized to ISAT+CM (posterior mean proportion 9%; 95% credible interval [CrI], 0%-33%; compared with TAU [posterior mean proportion 0.3%; 95% CrI, 0%-4%]; posterior mean treatment effect 9%; 95% CrI, 0%-32%). “Our findings indicate a need for more effective treatments to promote abstinence and a potential role for ISAT+CM for reductions in alcohol use,” the authors concluded.