Substance Use Disorder

Severe alcohol dependence and frequent relapses in this patient prompts his son to produce a durable power of attorney for health care. He demands that the physicians declare his father to lack decision-making capacity. More in this ethics case report.

There is increasing evidence and support for medications for alcohol use disorders to be used in regular clinical practice, and not to be limited to specialty substance abuse settings. Here, special considerations for pharmacological management.

In the US, 38,000 drug overdose deaths occur per year, and it is estimated that 75% are opioid-related. The good news is that addiction is a treatable disease. More in this discussion of opioid addiction, the use of naloxone, and Good Samaritan laws.

Clinicians will be drawn in by author Charles R. Cross's personal experience documenting, Here We Are Now: The Lasting Impact of Kurt Cobain. Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, committed suicide 20 years ago this month.

What expanded roles should psychiatrists be playing in the provision of proper pain management without taking their eyes off the issue of prescription opioid misuse and abuse? Insights here.

Alcohol misuse in older adults is often underdiagnosed in medical practice. This age group is rapidly moving into the treatment realm of the practicing general, geriatric, and addiction psychiatrist.

Substance abuse and addiction are commonly associated with an increased risk of suicide. Alcohol abuse plays a key role in suicide attempts and completions; prescription drugs are a close second. The causes of suicide for men and women are different but the suicide rates are equally staggering.

What medications are FDA approved for alcohol dependence? Take the quiz and learn more.

Many barriers can prevent physicians who have a substance use disorder from obtaining the help they need. However, in many states, all is not lost for physicians who willingly participate in treatment. Here, signs, symptoms, and intervention steps.

This article provides an overview of research concerning referral strategies for patients with substance use disorder and co-occurring disorders in the emergency department.

Stopping smoking affects the metabolism of a number of drugs used in the management of mental illness. Here, a summary of the author's published study on whether e-cigarettes with nicotine were more effective for smoking cessation than nicotine patches.

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the US. The majority of smokers want to quit, but only a fraction achieve this annually. New evidence shows it is possible to teach patients to weaken the link between craving and smoking until they are able to ride out any craving–and consequently quit.

What percentage of patients with schizophrenia have a comorbid cannabis use disorder? Take the quiz and learn more.

Psychiatrists are urged to familiarize themselves with these new drugs and the typical presentations of patients who use them since implications of misdiagnosis can be far-reaching.

The challenges of identifying patients at risk for alcohol withdrawal have been found to be mitigated by the development of a Risk Stratification Questionnaire, now being adopted by the VA regionally throughout New England. More in this video.

The authors evaluate the effects of nicotine and cannabis on neurocognitive function in individuals with schizophrenia and review potential pharmacological treatment strategies.

Can drugs be categorized as good (eg, medicinal), bad (eg, recreational with deleterious side effects and addiction issues), or is there a middle ground? That was the underlying theme in a lecture at PsychCongress, “Perils and Promise of Psychoactive Drugs: A Focus on Harm Reduction Psychiatry.”

If you could talk to a clinician-in-training about how they can better help people suffering from addiction, what would you say? A Q&A between Arjune Rama, MD, and comic Marc Maron.

Here, a psychiatrist certified by the American Board of Addiction Medicine discusses new treatment criteria for addiction.

Both the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry have identified substance abuse as a top risk factor for suicide in youths.

If our survey on medical cannabis is any indication, psychiatrists are widely-and deeply-divided on whether and how marijuana should be used in clinical practice. You can read the results here.

As we accumulate a greater war chest of patient experiences, we can better apply our skills as physicians to fill a space once occupied with alcohol-lubricated decision-making with smooth yet sober coping strategies.

Calling all psychiatrists: we conducted a survey of your opinions about prescribing medical cannabis and invite you to view the results.

Quick . . . name a class of prescription medications that, by most evidence, appears to be overprescribed and abused and the use of which has resulted in an increasing number of emergency department visits. If you said "opioids," you would be right.

It is clear that the prognosis for schizophrenia is much better when patients achieve drug abstinence, including in the domains of depression, quality of life, and community integration.

A parent's heavy drinking can increase a child's risk of substance use disorder.

As we are faced with a growing population of older adults, a better understanding of the issues that they confront is crucial.

How can clinicians reliably identify comorbid drug and alcohol use disorders in patients with anxiety disorders?

How would you rate the integration of mental health treatment with addiction treatment? Where is there room for improvement?

The report notes that pain is a significant public health problem that affects more than 100 million Americans, costs our society at least $560 to $659 billion annually, and can be severely detrimental to the lives of sufferers.