A case of needle fixation.

Needle fixation is frequently missed and dismissed by clinicians and patients. However, ignoring this condition can have severe consequences, such as septicaemia, thrombosis, blood borne viruses, and is associated with an overall poor prognosis of drug dependence.Here we describe a 37-year-old man who presented with 20-year history of polydrug dependence, drug-induced psychosis and antisocial personality disorder.

Substance use among medical students: time to reignite the debate?

Background: Substance use among medical students could impact on the conduct, safety and efficiency of future doctors. Despite serious medicolegal, ethical and political ramifications, there is little research on the subject, especially from the Indian subcontinent. We aimed to explore the patterns of substance use among a sample of medical students from the Indian subcontinent.

Effect of buprenorphine on psychomotor functions in patients on buprenorphine maintenance.

Objective: Patients on buprenorphine maintenance for opioid dependence often abuse its additional doses over and above the maintenance dose. Being a psychoactive agent, it may affect psychomotor performance with all its consequences, for example, effect on quality of life. This study was conducted to assess the effects of its additional doses on psychomotor performance in patients who are maintained on it.

Pattern of tobacco use among school children in National Capital Territory (NCT).

Objective: To study the prevalence, consumption patterns and correlates of tobacco use among adolescent SZI children in Government schools in the National Capital territory of Delhi.

Methods: Thirty schools in National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, India, were selected by two stage cluster random design and population proportionate to size sampling (PPS) methodology. A sample of 3,422 children in the age group of 10-18 years studying in the 30 middle and senior secondary Government schools in NCT of Delhi were studied.

Tobacco consumption and awareness of their health hazards amongst lower income group school children in National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Consumption of tobacco is a complex and multidimensional problem faced by the country. It is the main culprit behind oral cancer. The present study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of consumption of tobacco amongst adolescent school children of low-income group in National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi and to study the perception of the children regarding the health hazards of tobacco.

A comparison of brief intervention versus simple advice for alcohol use disorders in a North India community-based sample followed for 3 months.

Aim: To examine the change in alcohol use parameters following a brief intervention (BI) based on the FRAMES protocol, compared to simple advice (SA), in a community setting in North India.

Method: Ninety male subjects, 20-45 years old, with an AUDIT score between 8 and 24, consented to participate in this study. They were recruited from an earlier study on treatment, non-seeking, and allocated alternatively to the BI or SA protocols.

Validation of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) in urban community outreach and de-addiction center samples in north India.

Objective: The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) developed by the World Health Organization for screening disorders related to alcohol use has been shown to have robust psychometric properties. This study compared the performance of AUDIT with that of the Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (SMAST) in a region of North India.

Method: A total of 297 consecutive subjects who had used alcohol in the past year were recruited from a de-addiction center (DAC) (n = 97) and a community outreach setting (n = 200) in West Delhi.

Treatment nonseeking in alcohol users: a community-based study from North India.

Objective: This study examined the reasons given for not seeking treatment by problem alcohol users who live close to a community outreach de-addiction center.

Method: Consecutive households in the community were contacted, and inquiry identified 495 male family members who were using alcohol, 163 of whom reported use of alcohol in the previous year. Of these 163 subjects, the 79 who scored above the cut-off of > or = 8 on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test were further evaluated using a semistructured interview schedule to determine their reasons for not seeking treatment.

Coping behaviors and relapse precipitants in opioid dependence: a study from North India.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the reasons for lapse, relapse and the coping behaviors in a group of recently abstinent subjects with opioid dependence. Retrospective qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the reasons for lapse, relapse and coping behaviors were done using structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Eighty-four subjects from inpatient and outpatient settings of a Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, who had used illicit opioids after at least 3 weeks abstinence in the last 6-month period, were included.