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Critical Care Toxicology pp 1–14Cite as

Baclofen

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Abstract

In the central nervous system, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter. Three major GABA receptors – GABAA, GABAB, and GABAC – have been identified. Baclofen (β-(4-chlorophenyl)-γ-aminobutyric acid) is a GABA agonist, specific to GABA at therapeutic doses, that has been used to treat spasticity of various etiologies (e.g., multiple sclerosis, paraplegia, quadriplegia, cerebral palsy). It has also been used off-label for dystonia, jerking, restless legs, chorea, stiff-person syndrome, torticollis, tetanus, hiccups, trigeminal neuralgia, cluster headaches, and musculoskeletal pain; with more recent investigations for the management of rumination, supragastric belching, and gastroesophageal reflux; alcohol, opioid, and cocaine abuse disorders; bladder spasm; and in combined use with antimuscarinic agents for overactive bladder [1–28].

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Erin Stewart

  2. Clinical Emergency Medicine and Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Laura M. Tormoehlen

Authors
  1. Erin Stewart
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  2. Laura M. Tormoehlen
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Correspondence to Erin Stewart or Laura M. Tormoehlen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Colorado School of Medicine, Toxicology Associates, Denver, Colorado, USA

    Jeffrey Brent

  2. Office of New Drugs Drug Evaluation and Research, FDA, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

    Keith Burkhart

  3. Clinical Toxicology, St Thomas' Hospital, London, United Kingdom

    Paul Dargan

  4. University of Colorado School of Medicine, Toxicology Associates, Denver, Colorado, USA

    Benjamin Hatten

  5. Med & Toxicological Intensive Care Unit, Lariboisière Hospital Paris-Diderot University, Paris, France

    Bruno Megarbane

  6. University of Colorado School of Medicine, Toxicology Associates, Denver, Colorado, USA

    Robert Palmer

Grading System for Levels of Evidence Supporting Recommendations in Critical Care Toxicology, 2nd Edition

Grading System for Levels of Evidence Supporting Recommendations in Critical Care Toxicology, 2nd Edition

  1. I

    Evidence obtained from at least one properly randomized controlled trial.

  2. II-1

    Evidence obtained from well-designed controlled trials without randomization.

  3. II-2

    Evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case-control analytic studies, preferably from more than one center or research group.

  4. II-3

    Evidence obtained from multiple time series with or without the intervention. Dramatic results in uncontrolled experiments (such as the results of the introduction of penicillin treatment in the 1940s) could also be regarded as this type of evidence.

  5. III

    Opinions of respected authorities, based on clinical experience, descriptive studies and case reports, or reports of expert committees.

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Stewart, E., Tormoehlen, L.M. (2016). Baclofen. In: Brent, J., Burkhart, K., Dargan, P., Hatten, B., Megarbane, B., Palmer, R. (eds) Critical Care Toxicology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20790-2_136-1

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