| Literature DB >> 25948854 |
Caroline Anderson1, Christopher Morrell1, David Marchevsky2.
Abstract
Novel psychoactive substances (NPS), or 'legal highs' are becoming more commonly used as recreational substances in the UK. Their clinical effects are little known and vary considerably between substances. This case discusses a psychiatric inpatient who repeatedly used a stimulant NPS called 'el blanco' while on leave, precipitating relapses of his schizophrenia. The patient initially denied drug use, considering legal highs as different from drugs. The relationship between NPS use and mental state was eventually revealed on careful direct questioning. He recovered and was discharged following treatment with clozapine and education about NPS use. We suggest that specific questioning about NPS usage is added to routine psychiatric history taking and that patients using NPS should be educated about the substances' use. 2015 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.Entities:
Mesh：
Substances：
Year: 2015 PMID： 25948854 PMCID： PMC4434264 DOI： 10.1136/bcr-2015-209573
Source DB: PubMed Journal: BMJ Case Rep ISSN： 1757-790X