ABSTRACT
Substance use disorders are common among incarcerated individuals, and prescribed medications have been reported as abused, diverted, or otherwise misused in correctional settings. We conducted a retrospective chart review of electronic medical records and reports on institutional charges for misuse of authorized medication by inmates in the New Jersey Department of Corrections between 2003 and 2013. The most frequently cited medications for misuse were gabapentin, diphenhydramine, clonidine, and ibuprofen. When compared with the entire current inmate population, subjects were more likely to have any history of a substance use disorder, to be in treatment for a mental illness, to have any diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, to have any history of malingering, and to be prescribed a greater number of medicines. Prescribers in correctional settings should be aware that medications not traditionally prescribed by a psychiatrist may also be misused, and caution should be taken to manage this risk.
Subject(s)
Prescription Drugs , Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology , Adult , Analgesics/administration & dosage , Electronic Health Records , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , New Jersey , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
Use of Second Generation Antipsychotics (SGAs) in children and adolescents has grown more significantly in recent years. Clozapine has shown good results for the treatment of aggression in adult population but no case has been reported about the use of clozapine for treatment of aggression in non-psychotic adolescents. We present cases of 2 adolescents in which clozapine was used primarily to treat their aggressive behavior and suicidal ideation.