Substance Abuse Flashcards
The most widely used substances
Alcohol and tobacco
1 cause of death in the US
Tobacco
Cigarette smoke has more than 7000 compounds. What are 4?
Acetone, cyanide, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde
What is the criteria for the following degrees of substance use disorders?
- ) Mild
- ) Moderate
- ) Severe
- ) 2-3 symptoms
- ) 4-5 symptoms
- ) 6 or more symptoms
Schedule I controlled substances are high potential for abuse with no medical use. What are 5 examples?
MDMA, Heroin, GHB, Marijuana, and LSD
Have high potential for abuse and medical use
Schedule II controlled substances
What do we consider at risk drinking for men?
More than 4 drinks/day or 14 per week
What do we consider at risk drinking for women?
More than 3 drinks/day or 7 per week
What is the CAGE questionnaire screening test?
Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty, Eye opener
In the CAGE assessment test, what do we consider a positive test?
2 positive responses (1 is at risk)
One drink contains about
14 grams of pure alcohol
Has a male:female ration of 3:1 and typical onset is 16-30 years old
Alcohol use disorder
Almost all heavy drinkers have
- Usually asymptomatic
- Reversible
Fatty Liver
Alcoholic cirrhosis can lead to
Portal Hypertension, decreased androgens, spider angioma
Has the classic findings of hepatosplenomegaly, caput medusae, esophageal varices, and hemorrhoids
Portal Hypertension
Alcoholic cirrhosis can decrease albumin levels which can lead to
Ascites (abdominal edema)
Alcoholic cirrhosis can decrease coagulation factors, making you more susceptible to bruising. This is called
Ecchymoses
The liver functions to store
Thiamine, folate, and B6
Lack of folate from chronic alcohol use causes
Macrocytic anemia
B6 deficiency from chronic alcoholism causes
Pallor (anemia)
A test we can order if we are suspicious of heavy alcohol use is
Carbohydrate deficient Transferrin
What level of Carbohydrate Deficient Transferrin (CDT) indicates heavy drinking?
CDT > 20g/L
The legal BAC limit is
0-100 mg/dL
A good marker for heavy drinking is
-Normalizes after about ~5 weeks of abstinence
GGT (>35)
An AST:ALT ratio of what is suggestive of alcohol?
-Less sensitive than GGT
AST:ALT > 2:1
Caused by an acute drop in thiamine
- Reversible
- Results in confusion, ataxia, and opthalmoplegia (eye muscle paralysis)
Wernicke Encephalopathy
Cause by a chronic decrease in thiamine
-non-reversible
Korsakoff’s syndrome
Results in impaired memory, confabulation, and retrograde/anterograde memory loss
Korsakoff’s syndrome
Wernicke-Korskoff syndrome shows bilateral degradation of
Mammillary Bodies
Decreases the GABA receptor sensitivity
Alcohol