Little is known about the frequency, severity, and risk factors for disease in drug- and alcohol-dependent persons without primary medical care. Our aims are to assess the burden of medical illness, identify patient and substance dependence characteristics associated with worse physical health, and compare measures of illness burden in this population. This was accomplished through a cross-sectional study among alcohol-, heroin- or cocaine-dependent persons without primary medical care who were admitted to an urban inpatient detoxification unit. The mean age of these patients was 35.7 (SD 7.8) years; 76% were male and 46% were Black. Forty-five percent reported being diagnosed with a chronic illness, and 80% had prior medical hospitalizations. The mean age-adjusted SF-36 Physical Component Summary (PCS) score was lower than the general U.S. population norm (44.1 vs 50.1; p<0.001). In multivariable analysis, female gender (adjusted mean change in PCS score: -3.71 points, p=.002), problem use of hallucinogens (-3.51, p=0.013), heroin (-2.94, p=0.008), other opiates (-3.20, p=.045), living alone (-3.15, p=.023), having medical insurance (-2.26, p=0.014) and older age (-.22 points per year, p=0.001) were associated with worse health. From these data, it seems that alcohol- and drug-dependent persons without primary medical care have a substantial burden of medical illness compared to age- and gender-matched U.S. population controls. While the optimal measure of medical illness burden in this population is unclear, a variety of health measures document this medical illness burden in addicted persons.
Screening and brief intervention in general health care settings are efficacious but have not been widely adopted. Our objective was to assess the effect of an educational intervention on clinicians' substance abuse-related clinical practices. The study was a telephone survey of practicing physicians, nurses, psychologists, physician's assistants, and social workers who attended a half-day continuing education course on one of four occasions. The course covered the stages of behavioral change and motivational counseling, using primarily role play with standardized patients. Of 87 course attendees, 70 (80%) completed the interview. Months to years after the course, most (91%) reported that the course made an impact on their practice. Most (78%) of respondents reported that they frequently or always asked new patients who drank alcohol a formal screening questionnaire such as the CAGE, and 94% frequently or always assessed their substance abusing patients' readiness to change. Most respondents reported that since taking the course they were more likely (1) to screen patients for alcohol or drug related problems (86%) and (2) to ask patients about their substance abuse on a follow-up visit (96%). After exposure to an active-learning half-day continuing education course, clinicians reported improvement with and high rates of desirable substance abuse-related clinical practices up to 5 years later. Continuing education efforts that incorporate active learning directed toward practicing clinicians show promise for improving rates of brief intervention for alcohol and other drug abuse.
Our objective was to describe and assess the prevalence and characteristics of substance-abusing persons without primary care physicians. We interviewed a convenience sample at one point in time. Patients/participants were persons presenting for addictions treatment in a public substance abuse treatment system. Of 5824 respondents, 41% did not have a physician. In a multivariable analysis, the following were associated with not having a physician: no health insurance [adjusted odds ratio (OR), 2.05; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.79-2.35], no history of a chronic (OR, 1.70; CI, 1.47-1.97) or an episodic (OR, 1.20; CI, 1.05-1.39) medical illness, male gender (OR, 1.49; CI, 1.29-1.71), and younger age (by decade) (OR, 1.12; CI, 1.04-1. 38). Prior addictions or mental health treatment or a recent emergency-room visitwere not significantly associated with having a physician. Many patients with addictions serious enough to prompt presentation for treatment stated that they did not have physicians. Although younger persons, males, and those without insurance or past medical illness were more likely to report not having a physician, neither prior addictions or mental health treatment nor a recent emergency-room visit decreased this likelihood. To achieve improved linkage of substance-abusing patients with primary medical care, all health-care contacts should be utilized.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common, chronic mental illness that has a significant burden on the patient's quality of life. Treatment for GAD routinely consists of monotherapy with a proven anxiolytic such as an antidepressant or benzodiazepine, but many patients do not respond fully to these drugs, and additional treatment may be needed. Therefore, we reviewed the safety and efficacy of atypical antipsychotics as adjunct therapy to standard GAD pharmacotherapy in patients deemed treatment resistant. We performed a literature search of the MEDLINE database for English-language articles published from January 1966-May 2009. Identified articles were evaluated, and only open-label trials and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included in the review. Relevant references from the articles were also evaluated. Only a few reports of large-scale RCTs that assessed an atypical antipsychotic for treatment-resistant GAD have been published. Articles were found for five of the eight currently available atypical antipsychotics, but not for asenapine, clozapine, and paliperidone. Several open-label trials and smaller RCTs support the need for further evaluation of aripiprazole and quetiapine for treatment-refractory GAD, although one quetiapine trial demonstrated negative results. There is disparate data for risperidone, with one open-label trial and one small RCT showing positive results and one large RCT showing negative results. One open-label trial of ziprasidone and one RCT of olanzapine both showed beneficial effects of the drugs. Adverse effects were specific to each agent, with weight gain being the most common, but many studies did not monitor systematically for lipid level, weight, or glucose level changes. Although data suggest efficacy regarding the use of atypical antipsychotics for augmentation of treatment-refractory GAD, more rigorous studies (large, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials) on the safety and efficacy of these agents are needed in order to recommend their use in patients with GAD.
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