Substance abuse among patients attending a psychiatric hospital in Jeddah: a descriptive study

A thorough retrospective review of all case notes of patients attending the outpatient clinics in a newly opened acute care psychiatric hospital in Jeddah identified 485 patients with substance abuse during a period of one year. Heroin and alcohol were the most common substances abused. Comparison of the drug history and sociodemographic characteristics of our patients with three similar studies from Western countries revealed some significant differences. Low female ratio, significant difference in age group, and generally higher daily regular intake are some of the differences

role of electroencephalogram in psychiatric patients in developing countries

We studied 300 electroencephalograms [E.E.G.] of patients attending Jaddah Psychiatric Hospital in a period of one year in an attempt to know the proportion of epileptic patients attending the psychiatric clinics and their diagnoses and main symptoms which generate the interest of the psychiatrist to seek E.E.G. help in diagnosis. Temporal lobe seizures were over-represented and showed the highest correlation with the provisional clinical diagnoses for which E.E.G. was sought. Fits, altered consciousness and deterioration in social behaviour came as the main complaints for which E. E. G. was requested. In developing countries, epileptics are still constituting a significant portion of patients in the psychiatric clinics

Serious self stabbing with a knife during sleep-walking

Night terrors and sleep-walking have been commonly associated with disturbed behaviour and violence. Violence towards other people, rarely with weapons, have been reported, but violence towards self, in particular using weapons, his not been well documented. A case of serious self stabbing with a knife during sleep-walking is reported with emphasis on the medico-legal implications involved in such cases. Conditions which may lead to resumption of the disorder in adulthood will be discussed and the possibility of these same conditions precipitating sleep-walking in adulthood with no such history in childhood will be considered