Psychotic Disorders in Patients Who Use Synthetic Cannabinoids.

Objective: The main objective of this study was to investigate the structure of psychotic disorders due to synthetic cannabinoid use and to determine differences in clinical characteristics and disease course between such substance-induced psychosis and psychosis associated with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Methods: This was a longitudinal, observational cohort study that included male patients who underwent inpatient treatment in the intensive care unit or in the emergency department due to substance-induced psychoses. The follow-up period was up to 2 years.

Results: We identified 4 clinical variants of substance-induced psychoses in patients who use synthetic cannabinoids.

Conclusions: Our study revealed that psychotic symptoms are typical manifestations in association with intoxication with synthetic cannabinoids, and we identified several nonspecific characteristics of the psychoses that may occur in patients intoxicated with synthetic cannabinoids. We also identified a number of signs that may indicate the presence of substance-induced psychoses.