Identification and initial management of intoxication by alcohol and other drugs in the pediatric emergency room.

Objective: To review the screening, diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of intoxication by alcohol and other drugs in children and adolescents in the emergency scenario.

Data Source: This was a narrative literature review.

Data Summary: The detection of this problem in the emergency room can be a challenge, especially when its assessment is not standardized.

Differences in biomarkers of crack-cocaine adolescent users before/after abstinence.

Aims: To measure the variation in Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS) and interleukin (IL) levels in crack-cocaine dependent adolescents after 21days of abstinence, comparing to levels found in a group of healthy controls.

Design: Cross-sectional nested on a short follow-up study.

Setting: Two inpatient treatment units for adolescents, and a low-income neighborhood.

Predictors of early relapse among adolescent crack users.

Relapse is associated with a poor prognosis among drug users. Crack cocaine users are more prone to severe dependence because of the intensity of use. Additionally, initiating drug use during adolescence worsens users' prognosis due to the increased rates of impulsivity and other risk behaviors.

Effects of crack cocaine addiction and stress-related genes on peripheral BDNF levels.

This study examined the effects of glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1), corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor 1 (CRHR1), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) genes on susceptibility to crack cocaine addiction and BDNF levels. Crack addicted patients who sought treatment (n = 280) and non-addicted individuals (n = 241) were assessed. Three SNPs in NR3C1 (rs6198, rs41423247, and rs10052957), three in CRHR1 (rs12944712, rs110402, and rs878886), and one in BDNF (rs6265) were genotyped.

Crack Cocaine Use in Adolescents: Clinical Characteristics and Predictors of Early Initiation.

Objective: To describe the clinical characteristics of adolescents with crack cocaine dependence and possible predictors of transition from drug experimentation to crack cocaine dependence.

Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled a consecutive sample of 90 adolescents admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit in the city of Porto Alegre in southern Brazil for crack cocaine detoxification between May 2011 and November 2012. Comorbid psychological conditions were assessed using the Kiddie-SADS-Present and Lifetime Version, and severity of drug use was assessed using the Teen Addiction Severity Index (T-ASI).

IL-6 and IL-10 levels in the umbilical cord blood of newborns with a history of crack/cocaine exposure in utero: a comparative study.

Introduction: Prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) is associated with neurobehavioral problems during childhood and adolescence. Early activation of the inflammatory response may contribute to such changes. Our aim was to compare inflammatory markers (IL-6 and IL-10) both in umbilical cord blood and in maternal peripheral blood at delivery between newborns with history of crack/cocaine exposure in utero and non-exposed newborns.

Cost-utility analysis of methylphenidate treatment for children and adolescents with ADHD in Brazil.

Objective: To perform a cost-utility analysis on the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with methylphenidate immediate-release (MPH-IR) in children and adolescents from Brazil.

Method: A Markov model was constructed to compare MPH-IR vs. no treatment.

Interrater agreement for the schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia epidemiological version for school-age children (K-SADS-E).

Objective: The main objective of this study was to assess the interrater agreement for the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia Epidemiological version for School-Age Children (K-SADS-E).

Methods: Four interviewers being trained with the K-SADS-E scored independently 29 videotaped interviews performed with psychiatric outpatients in the ADHD Outpatient Clinic at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. Interrater agreement analysis was performed using the kappa coefficient (k).