Drug and alcohol dependence
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Jan 2009
Predictors of violence following Emergency Department visit for cocaine-related chest pain.
This study examined 1-year violence outcomes among non-injured patients treated in the Emergency Department (ED) for cocaine-related chest pain. An urban Level I ED required patients with chest pain (age 60 and younger) provide a urine sample for cocaine testing. Cocaine-positive consenting patients (n=219) were interviewed in the ED; 80% completed follow-up interviews over 12-months (n=174; 59% male, 79% African-American, mean age=38.8, standard deviation 9.06; range=19-60). ⋯ Overall, no significant gender differences were observed in violence; however, women were more likely than men to report injury during the most severe partner violence incident. Violence is a common problem among patients presenting to an inner-city ED for cocaine-related chest pain, with younger age and frequency of binge drinking being a consistent marker of continued violence involvement. Intervention approaches to link these not-in-treatment cocaine users to services and reduce cocaine use must take into account concomitant alcohol misuse and violence.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Jan 2009
Concurrent anxiety and substance use disorders among outpatients with major depression: clinical features and effect on treatment outcome.
Depressed patients often present with comorbid anxiety and/or substance use disorder. This report compares the four groups defined by the disorders (anxiety disorder, substance use disorder, both, and neither) in terms of baseline clinical and sociodemographic features, and in terms of outcomes following treatment with citalopram (a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor). ⋯ Comorbid anxiety and/or substance use disorder are clinically identifiable, and their presence may define distinct MDD subgroups that have more problems and worse pharmacological treatment outcomes. They may benefit from more aggressive, multi-faceted treatment and psychosocial rehabilitation targeted at reducing their psychological comorbidity and functional impairment.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Jan 2009
Comparative StudyCorrelates of extramedical use of OxyContin versus other analgesic opioids among the US general population.
There has been substantial public and media attention regarding extramedical use of OxyContin, but few studies focus on the characteristics of extramedical OxyContin users and whether they differ from extramedical other opioid users. ⋯ Our findings point out differences between OxyContin and other opioid users that might help prevention specialists and assist efforts to curb opioid analgesics diversion.