Inhalant-Related Psychiatric Disorders Follow-up

  • Author: Guy E Brannon, MD; Chief Editor: Iqbal Ahmed, MBBS, FRCPsych (UK)   more...
 
Updated: Oct 5, 2010
 

Further Inpatient Care

  • Patients who represent a danger to themselves or to others, are gravely disabled, or are medically unstable require inpatient care, even if involuntary measures are needed.
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Further Outpatient Care

  • Therapy should include interventions such as a 12-step program or chemical dependency counseling, cognitive behavior therapy, or rational-emotive therapy.
  • Treatment may become more difficult for chronic inhalant abusers since the severity of brain injury progresses as abuse continues. Therefore, long-term therapy may be necessary.[8]
  • Continued pharmacotherapy may be indicated.
  • Patients may need to join Alcoholics Anonymous.
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Inpatient & Outpatient Medications

  • Continued pharmacotherapy depends on the diagnosis and what medications were started in the hospital.
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Transfer

  • Transfer to a medical/surgical hospital may be necessary.
  • If legal problems develop, transfer to prison, jail, or a juvenile detention center may be necessary.
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Deterrence/Prevention

  • Educating students, educators, parents, those who abuse inhalants, and the community in general may help prevent further abuse and decrease experimentation with inhalants.
  • Early identification of the problem may help prevent continued abuse.
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Complications

  • Social problems
  • Difficulty at work
  • Psychosis
  • Dementia
  • Anxiety
  • Mood disorders
  • Delirium
  • Legal problems
  • Death
  • Visual problems
  • Decreased coordination
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Arrhythmias
  • Violence or aggression
  • Confusion or impaired judgment
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Prognosis

  • The prognosis is fair if inhalants are used short-term.
  • The prognosis is poor if inhalants are used long-term.
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Patient Education

Family education

  • If you suspect someone is huffing, call 911 immediately. Attempt to keep the patient calm.
  • Contact the poison control center for information if no emergency exists.
  • Inform the physician of the source of the inhalant (eg, gasoline, glue)
  • Children and adolescents need to be taught the purpose of household products, the proper use of the products, and precautions in the use of the products. Review the risk and consequences of abusing the household products.
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Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Guy E Brannon, MD  Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center; Director, Adult Psychiatry Unit, Chemical Dependency Unit, Clinical Research, Brentwood Behavior Health Company

Guy E Brannon, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Medical Association, American Medical Writers Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Society of Addiction Medicine, Association of Clinical Research Professionals, Louisiana State Medical Society, and Southern Medical Association

Disclosure: AstraZeneca Grant/research funds Other; Janssen Grant/research funds Other; Pfizer Honoraria Speaking and teaching; Sunovion Honoraria Speaking and teaching; Eli Lilly Grant/research funds Other; Forrest Grant/research funds Other

Coauthor(s)

Jennifer M Thomas, MS, MA  Clinical Research Coordinator, Louisiana Clinical Research, LLC

Jennifer M Thomas, MS, MA is a member of the following medical societies: Psi Chi

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Barry I Liskow, MD  Professor of Psychiatry, Vice Chairman, Psychiatry Department, Director, Psychiatric Residency Program, University of Kansas School of Medicine; Director, Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic, The University of Kansas Medical Center

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD  Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: Medscape Salary Employment

Harold H Harsch, MD  Program Director of Geropsychiatry, Department of Geriatrics/Gerontology, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Department of Medicine, Froedtert Hospital, Medical College of Wisconsin

Harold H Harsch, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Psychiatric Association

Disclosure: lilly Honoraria Speaking and teaching; Forest Labs None None; Pfizer Grant/research funds Speaking and teaching; Northstar None None; Novartis Grant/research funds research; Pfizer Honoraria Speaking and teaching; Sunovion Speaking and teaching; Otsuke Grant/research funds reseach; GlaxoSmithKline Grant/research funds research; Merck Honoraria Speaking and teaching

Chief Editor

Iqbal Ahmed, MBBS, FRCPsych (UK)  Faculty, Department of Psychiatry, Tripler Army Medical Center; Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Clinical Professor of Geriatric Medicine, University of Hawaii, John A Burns School of Medicine

Iqbal Ahmed, MBBS, FRCPsych (UK) is a member of the following medical societies: Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine, American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, American Neuropsychiatric Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology, and Royal College of Psychiatrists

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

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