ABSTRACT
Methods for determination of PCP in body fluids are presented and a rapid screening method is suggested. The demographics, psychiatric profiles, forensic aspects, and diagnostic problems of PCP abuse are discussed.
Subject(s)
Phencyclidine Abuse/epidemiology , Chromatography, Gas , Chromatography, Thin Layer , Female , Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry , Humans , Immunoenzyme Techniques , Louisiana , Male , Phencyclidine Abuse/diagnosis , Phencyclidine Abuse/urineABSTRACT
In a public hospital emergency room, 580 urines were screened for phencyclidine (PCP) with the routine EMIT-DAU PCP screen, the extended EMIT-DAU PCP screen, and a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer/computer (GC/MS/COMP) in selected ion mode, which was chosen as the reference method. The extended method produced a 38.5% increase in positives detected over the routine EMIT-DAU PCP screen and allowed 66.4% of the specimens to be signed out as negative without confirmation by GC/MS/COMP. This ability to provide a rapid, relatively inexpensive screen for PCP in urine and, in particular, to eliminate those patients whose specimens are negative, is important in a psychiatric population that contains many acutely psychotic individuals with grossly abnormal behavior.
Subject(s)
Immunoenzyme Techniques , Mental Disorders/complications , Phencyclidine Abuse/diagnosis , Phencyclidine/urine , Acute Disease , Diagnostic Tests, Routine , Humans , Mental Disorders/psychology , Mental Disorders/urine , Phencyclidine Abuse/complications , Phencyclidine Abuse/urineSubject(s)
Ethnicity/psychology , Phencyclidine Abuse/psychology , Psychoses, Substance-Induced/psychology , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Sex FactorsABSTRACT
The medical and sociological aspects of T's and Blues abuse in New Orleans were studied to determine the effect of abuse on the medical and psychological status of the individuals involved and the sociological effects on the community in general. Sociologically, the most pertinent findings were an increase in the number of (1) deaths related to the use of T's and Blues, (2) arrests and revocation of parole for possession and/or sale of Talwin, and (3) a decrease in the number of arrests for the possession and sale of heroin. In the medical and psychiatric context of this study, three distinct groups of addicts were found of which the T's and Blues users were the largest. Psychiatrically, the most pertinent observation was the high (30-35%) incidence of paranoid, violence prone life-styles seen among T's and Blues users. This finding certainly is in accord with the increased homicide rate and T's and Blues related deaths noted in other aspects of this study.
Subject(s)
Pentazocine , Substance-Related Disorders/psychology , Tripelennamine , Adult , Crime , Female , Heroin Dependence/psychology , Humans , Life Style , Male , Pentazocine/adverse effects , Psychoses, Substance-Induced/psychology , Socioeconomic Factors , Tripelennamine/adverse effects , United StatesABSTRACT
A one year study of phencyclidine abuse in New Orleans showed that 90% of the cases cannot be detected by routine laboratory methods. Fifty percent of all cases showed evidence of police intervention. Initial impressions covered a wide range of psychiatric and clinical diagnoses. Recurring psychiatric problems due to the presence of the drug would indicate observation for a period of at least 72 hours. Patterns of PCP abuse cross racial and ethnic boundaries and are found uniformly in all population groups.