ผู้วิจัย/Authors: Phunnapa Kittirattanapaiboon

ชื่อเรื่อง/Title: Methamphetamine Psychosis: A Thai Perspective.

แหล่งที่มา/Source: ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry. Vol. 9, Supplement 1, 26-29 August 2008, page 40-41.

รายละเอียด / Details:

Thailand has experienced a tremendous increase in methamphetamine abuse, especially in the youth, since mid 1990s. As a consequence, service need for methamphetamine psychosis (MAP), e.g.,hospitalization, is also increased. Common psychiatric symptoms found in MAP patients are auditory hallucinations and persecutory delusion, which are mimic of schizophrenia. Most patients with these two disorders can be differentiated only by the history of methamphetamine use and/or the use of urine methamphetamine test. Hair analysis to find evidence of methamphetamine is not practical and not useful for predicting the illness severity. Most acute symptoms of MAP remit in 2-4 weeks. Conventional and atypical antipsychotic medications tend to have equi-efficacy in treating the psychotic symptoms. The antipsychotic doses used appear to be lower than those used appear to be lower than those used for schizophrenic patients. Despite its short course of illness, some patients may experience a prolonged course, which last for a month or more. In a five year follow-up study, more than a half of MAP patients were found to have relapse psychoses. The diagnoses in a fifth of MAP patients were changed to schizophrenia, due to its prolonged course without a return to drug use. In addition, a large proportion of them also had alcohol use disorders and an alarming degree of suicidality. Contrary to the common perception of acute disorder, many individuals with MAP are likely to have frequent relapses and hospitalzations, and chronic courses of psychotic symptoms. Further research is needed to characterize the chronicity of this illness and differentiate it from schizophrenia.

Keywords: methamphetamine, psychosis.

ปีที่เผยแพร่/Year: 2008

Address: Department of Mental Health, Ministry of Public Health,Thailand

Code: 201000031

ISSN/ISBN: 0218-3420

Country of publication: Thailand

Language: English

Category: Abstract

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