Methamphetamine abuse, psychosis and your patient

Abstract

Recent findings from the MRC-led South African Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (SACENDU) Project (which collects data on treatment episodes from substance abuse treatment centres) point to a significant and unprecedented increase in the proportion of clients reporting methamphetamine (MA) as their primary and/or secondary drug of abuse at these specialist substance abuse treatment centres in the Western Cape. For example, the proportion of clients reporting methamphetamine-related problems has increased from 5% of the total treatment population at Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre (the largest non-profit outpatient treatment centre in Cape Town) in 2003 to between 44% and 48% of the treatment population in 2004. 1 Press release Merck donates to Alexandra Health Centre

A retrospective review of trends and clinical characteristics of methamphetamine-related acute psychiatric admissions in a South African context

“…This underscores Myers and co-workers' assessment of the challenge MA poses to the health sector in the Western Cape. 13 …”

“…3,13 Research done on MA-related psychiatric disorders were mainly conducted in the U.S.A. 2,14,15 , Japan 16 , Australia 5,11 , and Germany 12 , whilst there is scant literature describing the psychiatric sequelae of MA use in South Africa. 6,7,17,18 Although the drug has only recently been introduced in South Africa, and specifically the Western Cape, a MA-epidemic has beset adolescent youths (i.e.…”