Exam BS Flashcards
Pharmacological management of alcohol withdrawal
- Benzodiazepines: Diazepam 5-15mg 2-3 times/day for ±5 days. Pregnant patients should have risk assessment done first
- Daily thiamine and vitamin B complex to prevent Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome
- Disulfiram, if relapse prevention is necessary
4 key features of motivational interviewing
- Patient centred
- Establish rapport, be empathetic and non-judgemental
- Facilitate patient’s movement towards change and self-sufficiency (positive affirmation)
- Identify readiness to change, and stage of change patient is in (cycle of change)
Aims of CBT
- Therapy that focuses on substance abuse as a disorder of beliefs, behaviour and core belief systems
- CBT aims to modify these factors
Aim of psychotherapy
Alleviate patient’s illness by promoting the desire to change and developing the ability to cope with change
Psychoeducation goals
- Educate patient about alcohol and drug use
- Give input on alternative methods of coping
- Give information on self-help groups and local facilities
Focus on individual in psychotherapy
- Aim to understand the thoughts and feelings leading to behaviour of substance abuse
- Explore the meaning patient attaches to alcohol abuse and dependence
Group therapy
- Same group of individuals meet regularly with trained leader
- Provides a public forum
- Patients can share their experience
- Place of support and confrontation
- Patient can see the influence of substances in other people’s lives
Family therapy
- Address family members that reinforce alcohol abuse/dependence
- Allows family to describe the effects of alcohol abuse on the patient
- Helps change family structure to prevent relapse
- Prevents premature relapse
- Improves outcomes
Define detoxification
Removal of toxic substances from the body using medication to reduce tolerance and alleviate withdrawal symptoms
Define withdrawal
Substance-specific syndrome following cessation/reduction in use
Symptoms of alcohol withdrawal
- Anxiety
- Agitation
- Nausea and vomiting
- Insomnia
- Cravings
- Tremor
- Transient hallucinations
Time to onset of withdrawal symptoms in alcohol withdrawal?
6-8 hours
Potential complications of alcohol withdrawal
- Delirium
- Psychosis
- Seizures
- Suicidality
- Hepatic disease
- Failed out-patient detox
Symptoms of opioid withdrawal
- GIT symptoms
- Pain
- Anxiety
- Insomnia
Management of opioid withdrawal/detox
If mild: out-patient basis
Moderate to severe: in-patient basis, opioid substitution treatment
Symptoms of benzodiazepine withdrawal
- Arousal
- Restlessness
- Anxiety
- Perceptual changes
- Autonomic hyperactivity
Benzodiazepine detoxification
- Replace short-acting with long-acting agents
- Use an equivalent dose
- Decrease the dose every 2 weeks
- Monitor and motivate
Management of uncomplicated alcohol withdrawal
- Out-patient basis
- Thiamine 100mg daily for 2 weeks
- Taper diazepam over course of 1 week, starting at 5mg 6hrly, doubling time between dose after 3, then 2, then 2 days
Management of alcohol withdrawal delirium
- Hospitalise
- Monitor vitals regularly
- Monitor for dehydration, electrolyte abnormalities, adequate nutrition
Symptoms of alcohol withdrawal delirium
- Occurs 2-3 days after cessation of prolonged alcohol use
- Visual hallucinations
- Disorientation
- Agitation
- Tachycardia
- Hypertension
- Low-grade fever
- Possible tonic-clonic seizures 24-48 hours after cessation
Pharmacological management of alcohol withdrawal delirium
Benzodiazepines:
- Diazepam slow IV OR
- Clonazepam IM (if IV not possible) OR
- Lorazepam IV
Maintain mild sedation with diazepam PO
If severely agitated or restless can add neuroleptic such as haloperidol
Distinguish between bipolar type 1 and 2
Type 1:
- One or more episodes of mania or mixed affective episode
- Often associated with depressive symptoms
Type 2:
- Hypomania and depression
Pre-treatment considerations of lithium
- Measure renal and thyroid function –> exclude disease
- ECG in pt. with family history of cardiac disease or arrhythmia
- Exclude pregnancy –> teratogenic
- Not recommended for children < 12 y/o
- CNS disorders (e.g. epilepsy)
Dose-related side effects of lithium
- Ataxia (may lead to seizures)
- Lethargy
- Weakness
- Drowsiness
- GIT disturbances
- Weight gain
- Coarse tremor
- Fatigue
Symptoms of lithium toxicity
- CNS symptoms:
- -> Mental retardation
- -> Hyperreflexia
- -> Tremor (fine)
- -> Convulsions and coma
GIT symptoms:
- -> Anorexia
- -> Nausea and vomiting
- -> Diarrhoea
Increased aldosterone secretion –> oedema, sodium retention
Hypothyroidism
EPSE’s
Management of acute manic episode
- Detailed assessment and commitment to care
- Safe environment for patient and others/containment
- Withdraw antidepressants
- Antipsychotic medication: one of haloperidol, chlorpromazine, risperidone depending on needs
- Mood stabilizers: Valproate: safe and sedates, but teratogenic; Lithium: gold standard - mainstay treatment (7-10 days until therapeutic effects felt)
- Benzodiazepines: Useful in acute phase for sedation: diazepam or lorazepam
- Electro-convulsive therapy is last-line
- Supportive psychotherapy for patient and family
Indications for second-line mood stabilisers
- Inadequate response to lithium/intolerable side effects, even in combination with antipsychotic after 4 weeks
- Persistent manic symptoms
- Rapid cycling between states in BPMD
- EEG abnormalities
- Head trauma
Another delirium definition
Acute onset of state of fluctuating awareness, impairment of memory and attention, and disorganised thinking
Direct effects of HIV on psychiatric illnesses
- Crosses BBB (Trojan horse - infected CD4 cells)
- Directly invades brain parenchyma and causes neuronal damage
- May present variably: psychosis, mania, depression, seizures, memory loss, dementia etc
- Exact mechanism of effect of HIV on brain is unknown
Indirect effects of HIV on psychiatric illnesses
- Opportunistic infections
- Effects of ARVs on the brain
- Increased prevalence of substance abuse in HIV patients
- Social stigma
- Initial shock of diagnosis
Mechanism of action of first gen vs second gen antipsychotics
First generation: D2 receptor blockade in mesolimbic and mesocortical pathways
Second generation: Serotonin receptor blockade, with lower affinity for D2 receptors