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Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) use in severe mental illness (SMI) patients: Potential changes in the phenomenology of psychiatric diseases
Author(s) -
Bersani Giuseppe,
Prevete Elisabeth
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
human psychopharmacology: clinical and experimental
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.461
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1099-1077
pISSN - 0885-6222
DOI - 10.1002/hup.2591
Subject(s) - psychiatry , mental illness , phenomenology (philosophy) , medicine , psychology , mental health , philosophy , epistemology
Objective Literature is quite poor about the clinical effects of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) and the long‐term consequences of NPS use in psychiatric patients. Consequently, it is of the greatest interest to examine which effects NPS can exert in patients with previous severe mental illness (SMI), such as psychotic patients. The aim of this work was a comprehensive review about NPS use in patients with SMI. Methods We searched Medline or PubMed for relevant English‐language citations and reviews describing relationships between NPS use and mental disorders, as well as for the main groups of substances and associated psychiatric manifestations. All studies reporting single case or case series of patients were selected. Results The NPS use in patients with SMI is probably underestimated. The one existing systematic review considers only 14 studies, 12 of which are case reports. Most clinical results report acute symptom exacerbation of preexisting psychosis. Paranoid, mood, and aggression symptoms occur more frequently. Conclusions NPS use could modify clinical features of SMI, but these conclusions cannot be generalizable. More evidence is needed to establish the causal and effective connection between NPS use and course of illness, type of psychiatric symptoms, and outcome of treatment in terms of adherence or response.