Using Extended Release Buprenorphine Injection to Discontinue Sublingual Buprenorphine: A Case Series.

Buprenorphine is highly effective for the treatment of opioid use disorder and is increasingly being used in the treatment of chronic pain. For various reasons, patients on buprenorphine may request discontinuation of this medication. Tapering off buprenorphine can be challenging due to intolerable withdrawal symptoms, including nausea, malaise, anxiety, and dysphoria.

The psychiatric management of patients with alcohol dependence.

Alcohol dependence is a chronic, relapsing biobehavioral disease mediated by various parts of the brain, including reward systems, memory circuits, and the prefrontal cortex. It is characterized by loss of the ability to drink alcohol in moderation and continued drinking despite negative consequences. The alcohol withdrawal syndrome is a common but not universal diagnostic feature of alcohol dependence.

A survey of addiction training programming in psychiatry residencies.

The authors surveyed 50 psychiatry residency training programs to examine the current status of addiction training and the impact of the new Residency Review Committee addiction training criteria for general psychiatry residencies. Only 5 programs did not already meet the new 1-month full-time equivalent addiction training requirement, and those programs anticipated only modest changes. The modal full-time equivalent addiction experience was actually 2 months, with great diversity in timing and settings.

Charcoal stercolith with intestinal perforation in a patient treated for amitriptyline ingestion.

A case of a patient who developed an intestinal perforation secondary to a charcoal stercolith is reviewed. The case involves a young female on methadone maintenance who received multiple-dose charcoal therapy for an amitriptyline ingestion. Peritoneal signs developed several days after admission, and an exploratory laparotomy was done.