Publications by authors named "Raul F Palma-Alvarez"

Background: Treatment of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is complex and therefore including patients in the therapeutic process is needed. Patient-Centered Care (PCC) and Shared Decision-Making (SDM) have been associated with greater satisfaction, self-control, and less substance use. However, correlates of SDM have not been investigated in this population.

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Objectives: Long-acting injectable buprenorphine (LAIB) has demonstrated a good profile for opioid use disorder (OUD) management. However, there is scarce information on LAIB in OUD patients with comorbid mental disorders (dual disorder patients).

Methods: We present a case report on OUD patients with a comorbid mental disorder who have received LAIB for at least 3 months.

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the mental health of patients with substance use disorder (SUD). However, few longitudinal studies have been done which examine associations between the pandemic, SUD patients' mental health and their drug use.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine duration of abstinence according to psychiatric status among SUD outpatients followed-up for 18 months from the pandemic related lockdown.

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Patient-centered care in therapeutic processes has been associated with better clinical outcomes, however, it remains a poorly studied aspect in Substance Use Disorder (SUD). The study aimed to evaluate patient's preferences, perceived participation in treatment decisions and activation level; and how they predict retention, pharmacological adherence and substance use during one-year follow-up. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between independent variables, along with a wide number of sociodemographic and clinical covariates, and outcomes.

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Medically supervised injecting rooms (MSIRs) are extremely important facilities for people who inject drugs (PWID) as MSIRs provide a safe place for the consumption of street-sourced drugs, impacting overdose rates and viral transmitted infections.

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Background: COVID-19 has hindered hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV screening, particularly in marginalised groups, who have some of the highest rates of these conditions and lowest rates of COVID-19 vaccination. We assessed the acceptability of combining HCV testing with COVID-19 vaccination in a centre for addiction services (CAS) in Barcelona and a mobile testing unit (MTU) in Madrid, Spain.

Methods: From 28/09/2021 to 30/06/2022, 187 adults from marginalised populations were offered HCV antibody (Ab) testing along with COVID-19 vaccination.

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Alexithymia is highly prevalent in patients with substance use disorders (SUDs) and has been implied in SUD pathogenesis and treatment outcomes. However, the psychometric properties of the most-used instrument for evaluating alexithymia (the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale, TAS-20) have been scarcely studied in relation to SUD patients.

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Problematic Gambling or Gambling Disorder (GD) can act by initiating and maintaining the problem of substance addiction. Despite this, there are no rapid screening tools validated in Spanish. The Brief Problem Gambling Screen (BPGS) has proven to be one of the most sensitive tools for detecting GD and populations at risk.

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Background: Substance use disorders (SUD) often co-occur with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although the short-term effects of some specific interventions have been investigated in randomized clinical trials, little is known about the long-term clinical course of treatment-seeking SUD patients with comorbid ADHD.

Aims: This paper presents the protocol and baseline clinical characteristics of the International Naturalistic Cohort Study of ADHD and SUD (INCAS) designed and conducted by the International Collaboration on ADHD and Substance Abuse (ICASA) foundation.

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Objective: Agitation in patients diagnosed with personality disorders (PD) is one of the most frequent crises in emergency departments (ED). Although many medications have been tested, their effectiveness has been small or non-significant, and no specific drugs are supported by the available evidence. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Inhaled loxapine (IL) as a therapeutic option for agitated patients with PD.

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Article Synopsis
  • The COVID-19 lockdown significantly affected the mental health of individuals with substance use disorders (SUD), revealing important differences based on gender, age, and previous dual diagnoses.
  • During the lockdown, men tended to increase their alcohol and cocaine use, while women reported higher levels of anxiety and depression.
  • Younger patients faced greater challenges, such as breaking lockdown rules and deteriorating family relationships, whereas older patients were more likely to maintain abstinence from substances.
  • The study emphasizes the need to consider these demographic factors when planning mental health protection measures during similar crises.
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Introduction: COVID-19 has had a great impact on mental health in the general population. However, few studies have focused on patients with substance use disorders (SUDs). This research aimed to compare the clinical status and substance use patterns of SUD outpatients, before and during confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) management is a challenge in patients with substance use disorder (SUD). This study aimed to describe an HCV screening and linkage to care program in SUD patients, and analyze the characteristics of this population in relation to HCV infection, particularly the impact of psychiatric comorbidities (dual diagnosis).

Methods: This study was a prospective clinical cohort study using a collaborative, multidisciplinary model to offer HCV care (screening, diagnosis, and therapy) to individuals with SUD attending a dedicated hospital clinic.

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Several investigations have been performed on insomnia symptoms in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, the relationship between insomnia disorder and adult ADHD has been neglected in research. The main objective of the current study is to analyze the differences between adult ADHD patients with and without insomnia disorder, in terms of ADHD clinical severity, medical and psychiatric comorbidity, psychopharmacological treatment, and quality of life.

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Cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids (SC) are related to several neuropsychiatric symptoms and disorders, especially psychotic symptoms and disorders. Interestingly, catatonia-like symptoms associated with cannabis and SC have been generally neglected in research and scarcely described despite the clinical repercussions. Hence, this review aims to analyze current clinical publications on catatonia induced by cannabis or SC in a systematized way.

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Article Synopsis
  • Alexithymia is commonly linked to various psychiatric disorders, especially substance use disorder (SUD), but previous studies largely overlooked SUD patients until this research focused on them.
  • The study involved 126 Spanish outpatients with SUD, assessing their alexithymia levels and how these related to other mental health issues and quality of life.
  • Results revealed that higher alexithymia was more prevalent among cannabis users and correlated with increased depression, anxiety, impulsivity, and decreased health-related quality of life, highlighting the need for tailored therapeutic strategies for these individuals.
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Introduction: Improving the knowledge and attitudes of people facing an opioid overdose is one of the key prevention measures for reducing overdose occurrence and severity. In this respect, the Opioid Overdose Knowledge Scale (OOKS) and Opioid Overdose Attitudes Scale (OOAS) have been developed and validated in English to assess and improve knowledge and attitudes of opioid users and their families and care providers, in case of an overdose. Here, the OOKS and OOAS scales have been translated into French, Spanish, and German, and the different versions of the 2 scales have been assessed regarding their psychometric properties.

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Ayahuasca is a psychotropic infusion prepared by boiling the bark of Amazonian plants and has many psychopharmacological effects not fully understood. Some of those effects are used as treatment for different diseases. However, the side effects of ayahuasca, including ayahuasca-induced psychosis, are an important issue.

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Introduction: The impact of psychiatric comorbidity and addiction features throughout the course of addiction has been widely studied. This is a naturalistic study conducted in an outpatient unit, where treatment follow-up studies are scarce compared to studies including inpatients or those under experimental conditions. Therefore, this follow-up study aims to analyze the treatment adherence and abstinence of outpatients with SUD (Substance Use Disorders) according to addiction severity and psychiatric comorbidity.

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Insomnia is highly prevalent in patients with substance use disorders (SUD), and it has been related to a worse course of addiction. Insomnia during detoxification in a hospital has not been adequately studied. This study aims to compare sociodemographic, clinical, and psychopathological characteristics of SUD patients undergoing a detoxification program, by comorbidity and insomnia symptoms.

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Article Synopsis
  • * In a study of 126 SUD outpatients, 41.3% were found to have alexithymia, which correlated with lower education, cannabis use disorder, psychological issues, and mood disorders.
  • * Those with alexithymia tended to spend less time in treatment and relapsed earlier than those without it, indicating the need for therapies that address emotional challenges related to alexithymia in SUD treatment.
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Drug dependence is a neuropsychiatric condition that involves genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors. Allele-specific methylation (ASM) is a common and stable epigenetic mechanism that involves genetic variants correlating with differential levels of methylation at CpG sites. We selected 182 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) described to influence cis ASM in human brain regions to evaluate their possible contribution to drug dependence susceptibility.

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Quinolones are an antibiotic group widely used due to their antimicrobial action and security profile, however, it has been described neuropsychiatric adverse effects, being induced-psychotic episodes one of the most clinically relevant. Nevertheless, this secondary effect has been scarcely studied. A literature search using PRISMA guidelines was performed between 01/01/1962 and 01/31/2019 on PubMed and ScienceDirect, including manuscripts which described substance-induced psychotic disorder according to DSM-5 and in which the symptomatology was not attributable to an acute confusional state (delirium) or to other induced psychiatric disorders.

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Objective: This study aims to assess the validity of the ADHD module of the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI-Plus) in patients with substance use disorders (SUD), using the Conners' Adult ADHD Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV (CAADID) as the external criterion.

Method: A cross sectional international multi-center study in 10 countries was conducted in treatment seeking SUD patients. A sample of 1263 patients with both MINI-Plus and CAADID was analyzed to determine the psychometric properties of the MINI-Plus.

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