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Biomedical subjects

F S Tennant

Publications and source records attributed to F S Tennant.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

Screening for drug and alcohol abuse in a general medical population.

One hundred fifty consecutive, first-visit, general medical patients were simply and inexpensively screened by questionnaire, personal inquiry, and physical examination for drug and alcohol abuse. Seventeen (11.3%) currently used psychoactive drugs, excluding alcohol, and ten (6.7%) used drugs or alcohol on a daily basis to the point that the patient considered it an abuse problem. The majority of the drug and alcohol users recognized their problem on a short questionnaire that was part of a medical intake form. Almost all of the recognized abusers of drugs or alcohol subsequently entered treatment of their problem.

Alcoholism

Histopathologic and clinical abnormalities of the respiratory system in chronic hashish smokers.

Thirty chronic hashish smokers (mean age-20 years) with respiratory symptoms and six control subjects who were nonhashish smokers were evaluated by history, physical examination, bronchoscopy, and bronchial biopsy. Twenty-three (23) of 23 (100 percent) patients who smoked hashish plus cigarettes had one or more histopathologic abnormalities of basal cell hyperplasia, atypical cells, or squamous cell metaplasia. Only one of seven (28.6 percent) hashish smokers who smoked cigarettes, one of three (33.3 percent) cigarette smokers who smoked no hashish, and zero of three (0 percent) nonsmokers showed one or more of the same histopathologic lesions (p less than .05). Hashish smoking when combined with cigarette smoking appeared to have more deleterious pulmonary effects than either hashish or cigarettes smoked alone, and the abnormal histopathologic lesions found in these smokers are identical to those frequently associated with later development of emphysema and carcinoma of the lung.

Adult

Outpatient treatment and outcome of prescription drug abuse.

Forty-six consecutive patients who voluntarily sought outpatient treatment for abuse of one or more prescription drugs were studied. Barbiturates, amphetamines, and diazepam were the most common drugs abused. Desired treatments by patients included counseling, medical withdrawal, or medical maintenance with the drug of abuse or a chemically related drug. Twenty-two (47.8%) patients left treatment and relapsed within one month; another eight (17.4%) patients relapsed between one and three months after entering treatment. Only 13 (28.3%) reported abstinence 90 days after entering treatment. This experience suggests that a wide range of medical, social, and psychologic resources are required to treat prescription drug abuse, and that long-term drug abstinence is difficult to achieve with all patients.

Adult

Detoxification from methadone maintenance: double-blind comparison of two methods.

A well-rehabilitated group of 22 methadone maintenance patients were detoxified under ambulatory and double-blind conditions, over 42 days, either by decreasing the daily dose of methadone and supplementing it by propoxyphene napsylate (M--PN), or by decreasing the daily dose of methadone administered in two equal doses given 12 hours apart (M--M). All of 12 (100%) M--M and 5 of 10 (50%) M--PN subjects were able to temporarily withdraw from methadone maintenance, although two of the M--PN patients required maintenance with propoxyphene napsylate to cease methadone maintenance. In our experience both detoxification methods employed appear superior to the standard withdrawal technique of simply reducing the daily methadone maintenance dose in a step-wise fashion.

Adult

Coordination of institution and parole services: an innovation within California's Civil Addict Program.

Parole outcome was measured 1 year after release of 397 narcotic addicts processed by an experimental program in which both institution and parole services were administered together. Conparison of outcome of this group to the outcome of 361 traditionally processed addicts revealed a positive effect on parole outcome of violators (those with prior parole experience) compared to new commitments (p less than .05). This was particularly true for the community parole unit which made most use of community resources (p less than .05). Community adjustment of some narcotic addicts may be increased by administrative interdependence and by optimal use of other community resources. The future for such programs seems brightest at the local level of government.

Adult

Use of difenoximide (SC-26100) for narcotic detoxification: a preliminary tolerance and efficacy study.

Difenoximide (SC-26100) is closely related to the antidiarrheal agent, diphenoxylate, which is a chemical congener of meperidine. It has been shown to have a greater ability than methadone to suppress opiate withdrawal in addicted mice, and it has produced less physical dependence than morphine and methadone in laboratory animals. In this study difenoximide was administered to nine active heroin addicts. A dose of 4 mg administered 4 times per day for 3 days effectively suppressed opiate withdrawal, while a dose of 8 mg produced symptoms resembling those of narcotic excess in subjects who had recently self-administered heroin. No side effect were observed at the therapeutic dosage level, and the drug was well accepted by subjects. Difenoximide was shown to be a potentially useful narcotic treatment agent in this impatient study.

Adolescent

Clinical trial in post-addicts with oxilorphan (levo-BC-2605): a new narcotic antagonist.

Oxilorphan (levo-BC-2605) is a new, long-acting, narcotic antagonist that has agonist properties. Twenty-one (21) heroin addicts in Los Angeles were detoxified and given at least one oral dose of oxilorphan. Only three (14.3%) patients took daily doses for 14 days, which was the maximal time allowed for oxilorphan administration in this study. The remainder discontinued oxilorphan because of subjective side effects or for unknown reasons. Side effects most responsible for dropouts were dysphoria, insomnia, weakness, hallucinations, nausea, drowsiness and anorexia. Oxilorphan provided 24-hour protection with a single, oral dose, but subjective side effects encountered during inductiolinical trials with oxilorphan should be attempted with other addict populations to fully determine its potential therapeutic value.

Adult

Heroin detoxification. A comparison of propoxyphene and methadone.

Propoxyphene napsylate and methadone hydrochloride were each administered under double-blind conditions to 36 outpatients for 21-day heroin detoxification. The initial dosage was 24 mg/day for methadone hydrochloride and 800 mg/day for propoxyphene napsylate. At these dosages, methadone more effectively suppressed the opiate-withdrawal syndrome, and patients remained in treatment longer in the methadone group (P greater than .05). In regard to heroin abstinence, however, results were not statistically significant in either group, as indicated by the number of patients whose urine was positive for morphine on admission and became negative during treatment, and the number who had morphine-negative urine at the conclusion of 21-day treatment. A one-month follow-up of patients showed that more patients given methadone had entered long-term medical maintenance while more patients given propoxyphene were heroin-abstinent. This study indicates that 21-day heroin detoxification, regardless of chemotherapeutic agent, yields a low rate of heroin abstinence.

Adolescent