Integrating services for schizophrenia and substance abuse.

Over the past decade, several studies have attempted to determine whether integrating psychiatric and substance abuse treatment leads to better outcome for patients with comorbid schizophrenia and substance use disorders. A recent (1999) Cochrane Review (1) analyzed the effectiveness of prospective randomized studies of integrated treatment approaches, and concluded that there was no clear evidence for superiority of integrated treatment. This paper describes one such integrated treatment approach, in Beth Israel Medical Center's COPAD (Combined Psychiatric and Addictive Disorders) program. We summarize findings from an initial outcome study and a recent replication study; and describe clinical and research issues relevant to this population. Our data suggests the benefits of integrated treatment for patients with addictive disorders and schizophrenia, at least with regard to treatment retention. Clinical issues for such patients include identification of patients at risk, proper assessment and treatment planning, decision-making about mainstreaming vs. referral to specialized programs, and the importance of initial engagement and ongoing reengagement in successful treatment.

Treatment of dementia-associated agitation with gabapentin.

The authors describe the use of gabapentin in the treatment of 4 outpatients with dementia-associated agitation. On the basis of clinical case reports and the Overt Agitation Severity Scale, all 4 patients had reduced agitation with gabapentin. Three of 4 patients were successfully titrated to a full dose of 2,400mg/day. These findings suggest a possible role for gabapentin in the behavioral management of patients with dementia.

A pilot open randomized trial of valproate and phenobarbital in the treatment of acute alcohol withdrawal.

The authors conducted a randomized, open comparison of the GABAergic anticonvulsant sodium valproate (divalproex sodium; Depakote) and phenobarbital as an active control in the management of acute withdrawal from alcohol. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to assess treatment effects in the first 37 inpatients, evaluating mood, hostility, and subjective and objective measures of withdrawal at index, 3, and 5 days of detoxification. Subjective and objective ratings of abstinence symptoms and subjective mood disturbance decreased significantly in intensity in both groups over 5 days, but there were no significant treatment differences nor treatment by time interactions. Hostility scores did not differ overall, but a group by time effect was observed (F = 5.42, df = [1,13], P < 0.05), with phenobarbital subjects reporting less hostility/aggression than those in the valproate group. There were no withdrawal-related seizures or other acute sequelae. This study offers pilot confirmation that sodium valproate is as effective as phenobarbital in the management of acute alcohol withdrawal, but it is unclear whether valproate offers a clinical advantage with respect to stabilizing changes in mood and interpersonal hostility during detoxification.

Prediction of compliance with outpatient referral in patients with schizophrenia and psychoactive substance use disorders.

BACKGROUND: Most patients with concurrent schizophrenia and psychoactive substance use disorders may be adequately treated as outpatients. However, many do not comply with outpatient referrals and are therefore at heightened risk for rehospitalization. METHOD: Drawing on standardized interview data collected during an index hospitalization, we developed a logistic regression model to predict compliance with outpatient treatment. The model was tested on a confirmatory sample, and its sensitivity and specificity were further evaluated in a cross-validation study of 1000 random samples. RESULTS: In a reference sample, the logistic function distinguished compliant from noncompliant patients in 37 (76%) of 49 cases. In a confirmatory sample, compliance status was predicted for 11 (78%) of 14 patients with a sensitivity of 1.00 and a specificity of 0.67. Women and patients with negative syndrome schizophrenia were compliant with outpatient referral, whereas those with mixed syndromes were most likely to be noncompliant. Cross-validation supports the stability of the model. CONCLUSION: While most persons with schizophrenia and concurrent substance abuse comply with integrated outpatient treatment, most who cannot may be predicted in advance.

Differential diagnosis of substance-induced psychosis and schizophrenia in patients with substance use disorders.

We derived a statistical model that discriminates between substance-induced psychosis (i.e., DSM-III-R organic delusional disorder or organic hallucinosis; ODD-OH) and DSM-III-R schizophrenia in patients who have both DSM-III-R psychoactive substance use disorders (PSUD) and prominent delusions or hallucinations. A sample of 211 PSUD inpatients was divided by year of admission into data sets A and B, each of which was divided between those with concurrent schizophrenia and those with concurrent ODD-OH. A six-predictor discriminant function correctly classified 76.2 percent of all set A patients, including 83.1 percent with schizophrenia. Formal thought disorder and bizarre delusions significantly predict a diagnosis of schizophrenia, with odds ratios (OR) of 3.55:1 and 6.09:1, respectively. Suicidal ideation (OR = 0.32:1), intravenous cocaine abuse (0.18:1), and a history of drug detoxification (0.26:1) or methadone maintenance (0.18:1) demonstrate inverse relationships with a schizophrenia diagnosis. The model was validated in set B, correctly predicting the diagnostic status of 70.4 percent of patients (72.5% with schizophrenia). The pattern of presenting symptoms and clinical history differs in patients with psychosis due to PSUD and in those whose psychosis is due to schizophrenia. The model presented here contributes to the differential diagnosis of schizophrenia and ODD-OH among patients with PSUD.

Knowledge, implicit knowledge and metaknowledge in visual agnosia and pure alexia.

Residual or implicit knowledge has been observed in patients with object agnosia, optic aphasia and pure alexia. Previous investigators have considered implicit knowledge in these patients to be dissociated from awareness on the basis of intact semantic capabilities that are consistent with right hemisphere processing. The absence of explicit verbal identification is presumably dependent upon damaged left hemisphere systems. We describe a 72-year-old woman with a left occipital infarction, object agnosia and pure alexia who was unable to explicitly identify visual stimuli (objects and words), but was able to make reliable judgements of her residual knowledge on forced-choice matching tasks. While the patient could not consistently demonstrate awareness of knowledge prior to stimulus matching ('Do you know what this is?'), she was able to reliably demonstrate awareness of knowledge for response accuracy ('Are you sure?') assessed after stimulus matching. Further, the extent of the patient's metaknowledge corresponded to her degree of preserved knowledge. We propose that this pattern of performance suggests limited or partial access to preserved semantic knowledge which, though degraded, is not 'non-conscious'.

Cognitive impairment in psychiatric patients and length of hospital stay.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether brief neuropsychologic screening at the time of admission to an acute-care psychiatric unit predicts the length of inpatient hospital stay (LOS). Over a 4-month period, 41 consecutively admitted patients on a general psychiatric inpatient unit were administered the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Trails A and B subtests from the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery, and the Visual Reproduction subtest (VR) of the Wechsler Memory Scale within 72 hours of admission. A setwise, hierarchic multiple regression model examined the contributions of demographic factors, clinical features, and the four neuropsychologic tests to LOS variance. VR and Trails A were the best predictors of LOS, responsible for 21.6% and 16.3% of outcome variance, respectively. The independent variables (IVs) comprising the best-fitting model include Trails A, VR, MMSE, and patient diagnosis. These variables collectively accounted for 48.8% of the variance in LOS, and predicted 70.4% of patients with LOS < 21 days and 82.4% of patients with LOS > 21 days. The results of this study support the hypothesis that LOS is related to cognitive impairment associated with psychiatric illness, and suggest that neuropsychologic testing upon admission to an inpatient unit can be useful in predicting LOS.

Neuropsychiatric evaluation in an outpatient setting.

In a retrospective case review of 336 outpatients who underwent neuropsychiatric evaluations, patients were sorted into five groups: 1) atypical psychiatric; 2) atypical neurological; 3) prior psychiatric/new-onset neurological; 4) prior neurological/new-onset psychiatric; 5) dementia versus pseudodementia. Cluster analysis of 19 presenting complaints differentiated among groups. Post-consultation changes in preconsultation diagnosis occurred frequently overall, with more new case finding for psychiatric than for neurological disorders. For example, mood disorder diagnoses increased from 7.7% to 16.1%. Overall, dementia was the most common postconsultation diagnosis (32.8%). The authors conclude that suspicion for dementia should be high in neuropsychiatric referrals and that mood disorders may be especially common in neuropsychiatric patients.

Positive and negative syndrome typology in schizophrenic patients with psychoactive substance use disorders.

Our objective was to begin to elucidate the interrelationship between psychoactive substance use disorders (PSUD) and schizophrenia in patients who concurrently have both disorders. A series of 29 psychiatric inpatients with concurrent Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC)-diagnosed schizophrenia and PSUD (PSUD/S patients) were evaluated with rating inventories including the Schedule for Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) and the Schedule for Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS). Subjects had chronic schizophrenia with a mean duration of 9.9 years, and virtually all (93.1%) regularly abused cocaine and alcohol, as well as marijuana. The majority of subjects (58.6%) had mixed-syndrome typology, as defined by Andreasen; 24.1% had negative syndrome; and 16.7% had positive syndrome. Contrary to predictions, negative-syndrome PSUD/S patients had fewer years post-onset of schizophrenia than those patients with positive syndrome. In contrast to other schizophrenic patients, in whom the trajectory of symptoms is believed to change from a predominance of positive symptoms to a predominance of negative symptoms over the course of illness, in a sample of patients with comorbid PSUD/S we found the opposite pattern. This may have implications in the development of PSUD among certain schizophrenics, and may help to guide both psychiatric and substance abuse treatment of such patients.

Integrated services for treatment of schizophrenic substance abusers: demographics, symptoms, and substance abuse patterns.

We have previously described a model of outpatient integrated treatment for patients with comorbid psychoactive substance use disorders and schizophrenia (PSUD/S)(1). Here we review relevant literature on comorbidity and outline the rationale for integrated services. Further, we describe results from 3 related studies: First, we document the approximate incidence of PSUD among a heterogeneous group of 602 schizophrenic inpatient admissions to our hospital. Second, we describe in greater detail the psychiatric symptoms and patterns of substance abuse among a subsample of 106 inpatients with PSUD/S, contrasting them with 112 patients with PSUD and mixed psychotic disorders, but who are not schizophrenic. Third, we present a prospective research project and describe a sample of 30 patients with PSUD/S, detailing demographic characteristics, psychiatric symptoms and substance abuse history. Attention is given to current issues in the differential diagnosis of patients with PSUD/S using standardized instruments.