Drug Induced Psychosis

Abstract

Drug Induced PsychosisROBPOOLEand CLAREBRABBINS Differential diagnosis of psychotic disorder in the young routinelyincludes“¿ ?Drug inducedpsychosis―.Hitherto this diagnostic category has had no consistent definition and the relationship between drug use and psychotic symptoms is controversial.Drug use is a major complicating factor in psychosis, rendersthe managementof psychoticdisordersmore difficult, and adversereactionsto recreationaldrugs may mimic psychosis.We have collected data suggesting that psychiatrists of all grades lack clarity in their understanding of the relationship between psychosis and drug use (Brabbins & Poole, in preparation).The confusion may have its origin in personal experience; the sub-culture of drug use is alien to most psychiatrists, who rarely have had first-handexperienceof it.The sub-cultureof alcohol abuse, on the other hand, is more apposite and familiar.There is no such confusion about the adverse effects of this.The consequences of mis-diagnosis are serious, whether a functional psychosis is mistaken for a drug reaction or vice versa.The inquiry into the case of AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASsOCIATiON (1994) DIagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edn) (DSM-IV).Washington, DC: APA.