The Effects of Lithium Carbonate Supplemented with Nitrazepam on Sleep Disturbance during Cannabis Abstinence.

Study Objective: Sleep disturbance is a hallmark feature of cannabis withdrawal. In this study we explored the effects of lithium treatment supplemented with nitrazepam on objective and subjective measures of sleep quality during inpatient cannabis withdrawal.

Methods: Treatment-seeking cannabis-dependent adults (n = 38) were admitted for 8 days to an inpatient withdrawal unit and randomized to either oral lithium (500 mg) or placebo, twice daily in a double-blind RCT.

Evaluation of clinical practice improvement programs for nurses for the management of alcohol withdrawal in hospitals.

The most common alcohol-related chronic condition for hospitalisation is alcohol dependence which can lead to an alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS). The aim of this paper is to report on a quality improvement program in an Australian rural area health service for the screening and management of alcohol withdrawal and the effect of two types of nursing education and training approaches: a self-directed competency training package and a more traditional in-service program. The measure of improvement was compliance to nine clinical standards or core competencies for the assessment and treatment of the AWS derived from the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol-Revised (CIWA-Ar) scale and the NSW drug and alcohol withdrawal clinical practice guidelines.

The influence of alcohol and tobacco use in orthopaedic inpatients on complications of surgery.

Introduction And Aims: Tobacco use and heavy alcohol consumption are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. There is limited research on the correlation between tobacco and risky levels of alcohol use and the possible complications associated with a hospital admission. The underestimation of problem drinking, in particular, has obvious repercussions for the management of patients in hospital.