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Introduction . Drug overdose (OD) is a frequent incident among opiate addicts. Survivors of ODs are at risk for additional and eventually fatal ODs. ODs may be classified as accidental (aOD) or deliberate (dOD). Investigations into the connection between OD and suicide attempts have led to insconsistent results. Purpose . (1) to determine how many non-fatal ODs were dODs and how many were aODs; (2) to determine how many cases of dODs were motivated by explicit or by ambivalent suicidal intentions; (3) to determine how many cases of aODs had causes that might respond to preventative measures; (4) to compare the addiction histories of dODs and aODs; (5) to compare the drugs causing the ODs; and (6) to compare the severity of the ODs in both groups. Methods . Prospective study utilizing a standardized questionnaire to evaluate opiate-addicted patients admitted to our treatment unit for OD. All cases underwent standardized drug testing to identify drug use patterns. Results . Seventy-four cases of OD underwent standardized interviews after awakening. Forty-three percent of the cases were dOD. Cases of dOD had significantly more OA in substitution programs, more previous ODs, and more often consumed methadone and cocaine. Among dODs, 22.5% had suicidal intention and 9.6% were ambivalent about committing suicide; background motivations were most often conflicts with spouses. Fifty-seven percent of the cases were aOD. Cases of aODs had significantly more potential lethal intoxications and had heroin detected more frequently. aODs happened with unexpected pure heroin (46%), in combination with alcohol (36%), as relapse after abstinence (40%) or after institutionalized treatment (19%). This group should be accessible for targeted education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the technique for opiate detoxification using anesthesia and high, repetitive doses of opiate-antagonists which claims to detoxify addicts without withdrawal symptoms. Side effects of the technique; Efficacy and practicability of the technique; Thyroid indices during rapid opiate detoxification.

A 34-year-old man with a history of multiple substance abuse (now abstinent for six years) became addicted to tranylcypromine, consuming up to 240 mg/day. After discontinuing the drug, he developed thrombocytopenia (52,000/ul) and delirium; there were no other anticholinergic signs. The delirium was unresponsive to haloperidol and diazepam. Intravenous administration of physostigmine (2 mg) on hospital day 6 resulted in prompt, but temporary, clearing of the delirium. Following a recurrence of the delirium after 30 minutes, he was started on an intravenous infusion of physostigmine (2 mg/hr) with good results. Physostigmine administration did not produce any cholinergic signs. By hospital day 8, he did not require any more physostigmine. Thrombocytopenia resolved on hospital day 9 without therapeutic intervention. On hospital day 10, the patient was asymptomatic and left the hospital on his own recognizance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morchella esculenta and Morchella conica are well known edible morels, which seldom induce clinical symptoms. We report six persons who developed cerebellar effects 6-12 hours after consumption of these mushrooms. The symptoms were self-limited and disappeared after one day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]