[Off-label prescriptions in public psychiatric hospital practice].

Aim: Analyze prescriptions in public hospital psychiatric practice.

Methods: Psychiatric and somatic prescriptions were analyzed a given day regarding their indication, dosage, treatment duration, and prescription scheme. Consultants were individually asked for the reasons of off-label prescriptions.

Is smoking linked to positive symptoms in acutely ill psychiatric patients?

Background: The self-medication hypothesis is commonly put forward to explain the high prevalence of smoking in psychiatric patients. However, studies supporting the self-medication hypothesis have most often been carried out on chronic patients stabilized by antipsychotics.

Aim: Given that antipsychotics tend to erase psychiatric symptoms, the present study was undertaken on acutely ill patients usually receiving no medications, or on whom medications are ineffective.

[Nursing practices about preparation and administration of oral solutions in psychiatry].

Oral liquid drugs have many advantages in psychiatry (compliance, facility of administration) but they may be origin of medicinal iatrogenics (dose error). Since 2001, chemistry of Paul Guiraud's hospital (Villejuif) has developed recommendations about this galenic form and measured every two years practices evolution and respect of recommendations. In 2005, we analysed 601 prescriptions (100%) and collected 215 questionnaires (60% of answers).

Comparison of self-reports and biological measures for alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs consumption in psychiatric inpatients.

Background: Asking psychiatric in-patients about their drug consumption is unlikely to yield reliable results, particularly where alcohol and illicit drug use is involved. The main aim of this study was to compare spontaneous self-reports of drug use in hospitalized psychiatric patients to biological measures of same. A secondary aim was to determine which personal factors were associated with the use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs as indicated by these biological measures.

[Chemical content of street cannabis].

Introduction: There is little information available about the real content of cannabis consumed in France.

Objective: To assess the chemical content, including adulterants and contaminants, and potency of cannabis samples obtained from end-users.

Methods: Samples of resins considered by users to produce "unusual" effects were collected from habitual consumers and chemically analyzed.

Effects of chronic paroxetine treatment on dialysate serotonin in 5-HT1B receptor knockout mice.

The role of serotonin (5-HT)1B receptors in the mechanism of action of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI) was studied by using intracerebral in vivo microdialysis in conscious, freely moving wild-type and 5-HT1B receptor knockout (KO 5-HT1B) mice in order to compare the effects of chronic administration of paroxetine via osmotic minipumps (1 mg per kg per day for 14 days) on extracellular 5-HT levels ([5-HT]ext) in the medial prefrontal cortex and ventral hippocampus. Basal [5-HT]ext values in the medial prefrontal cortex and ventral hippocampus, approximately 20 h after removing the minipump, were not altered by chronic paroxetine treatment in both genotypes. On day 15, in the ventral hippocampus, an acute paroxetine challenge (1 mg/kg i.

Slow metabolism and long half life of methadone in a patient with lung cancer and cirrhosis.

In a patient on methadone maintenance treatment, admitted for lung cancer suspicion, a slight decrease in pain dose response to morphine have necessitated adjustments of methadone treatment founded on clinical check-up and methadone assay. Plasma methadone concentrations were 4 fold higher than mean plasma concentration for control population at the same dose. Half-life was above 70 hours and clearance and metabolic index were strongly decreased.

[Changes in pharmacists practices (1996 - 2000) related to harm reduction policy (condoms, injecting equipment, methylmorphine) and maintenance therapy delivery (buprenorphine, methadone)].

Aims: To measure pharmacists involvement in harm reduction programs and in delivery of maintenance therapies in order to estimate their contribution to the new public health policy.

Method: A longitudinal study was conducted among 327 pharmacies located in the southern suburban area of Paris (28 communities) using a standardized questionnaire.

Results: The response rate was 95% in 1996 and 92% in 2000.

[Value of trimeprazine among hypnotics in a psychiatric facility].

Trimeprazine (TPZ) has been marketed in France since 1959, as tablets and solution containing respectively 5 mg and 40 mg/ml. TPZ is a phenothiazine derivative with known antihistaminic and sedative effects. The first approved indication for TPZ is in the treatment of allergy.

Substitution with buprenorphine in methadone- and morphine sulfate-dependent patients. Preliminary results.

In France, during the 1990s, there have been some rapid developments in the treatment of opioid addiction with the introduction of legal substitution agents. Originally, some patients were treated with morphine sulfate, but this was superseded by high dose buprenorphine (Subutex(R)) and methadone. This resulted in those patients originally treated with morphine being transferred to either of these two licensed products.

Evolution of plasma homovanillic acid (HVA) in chronic schizophrenic patients treated with haloperidol.

In a 4-week study of 14 drug-free schizophrenic patients (according to DSM-III-R), free and conjugated fractions of plasma homovanillic acid (pHVA) were repeatedly measured. Free HVA levels decreased during the first 2 h of haloperidol intake (P < 0.03).