eMedicine Specialties > Psychiatry > Addiction
Inhalant-Related Psychiatric Disorders: Follow-up
Updated: Feb 5, 2008
Follow-up
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.
Further Outpatient Care
- Therapy should include interventions such as a 12-step program or chemical dependency counseling, cognitive behavior therapy, or rational-emotive therapy.
- Continued pharmacotherapy may be indicated.
- Patients may need to join Alcoholics Anonymous.
Inpatient & Outpatient Medications
- Continued pharmacotherapy depends on the diagnosis and what medications were started in the hospital.
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.
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.
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
Prognosis
- The prognosis is fair if inhalants are used short-term.
- The prognosis is poor if inhalants are used long-term.
Patient Education
- Prevention
- Education about substance abuse
- Social skills training
- Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.)
- For excellent patient education resources, visit eMedicine's Substance Abuse Center. Also, see eMedicine's patient education article Substance Abuse.
- Additional patient resources can be obtained from the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition, NIDA Facts About Inhalant Abuse, and NIDA Research Report on Inhalant Abuse.
- 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.
Miscellaneous
Medicolegal Pitfalls
- Failure to know local and state laws is a potential pitfall; persons who abuse inhalants may be placed in jail.
Special Concerns
- HIV infection: Any person who engages in risky behavior that results in impaired judgment (eg, use of drugs, alcohol, inhalants) should be made aware of the risks associated with the acts, especially drug abuse that is known to occur in a subgroup of adolescents aged 12-17 years. Whether the impaired judgment leads to promiscuity, impaired cognitive functioning that can affect driving, or other activities in which accidents can be expected to occur, an awareness of the additional risk of HIV infection must be conveyed. Even tissue damage in the nose associated with huffing, which can cause nosebleeds, can put someone at risk.
- Pregnancy: The use of inhalants can cause preterm labor, fetal growth retardation, low birth weight, and abnormalities similar to those associated with fetal alcohol syndrome. Other issues involve decreased cognition, speech, and motor ability for the child exposed to inhalants in utero.
- Conduct disorder: Abuse may be more frequent and extensive, thus worsening treatment outcome.
- Antisocial personality disorder: Abuse may be more frequent and extensive, thus worsening treatment outcome.
- Chronicity and relapse: Inhalant-related psychiatric disorders may have a chronic and relapsing course, which can be difficult to treat and can be frustrating for both families and physicians. A nonjudgmental approach may decrease some of this frustration.
More on Inhalant-Related Psychiatric Disorders |
| Overview: Inhalant-Related Psychiatric Disorders |
| Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Inhalant-Related Psychiatric Disorders |
| Treatment & Medication: Inhalant-Related Psychiatric Disorders |
Follow-up: Inhalant-Related Psychiatric Disorders |
| References |
| « Previous Page |
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Further Reading
Keywords
huffing, sniffing, bagging, volatile substance abuse, substance abuse, drug abuse, drug-induced psychosis, inhalant abuse, inhalant dependence, inhalant intoxication, substance intoxication delirium, substance-induced anxiety disorder, inhalant-related disorder NOS, inhalant-related disorder not otherwise specified, substance-induced psychotic disorder, depression, general anxiety disorder, sudden sniffing death syndrome
Follow-up: Inhalant-Related Psychiatric Disorders