Transcript The Physical Complications of Alcohol and Drug Use

Physical Complications and
Co-existing Problems
PSMX 404 2011
This self-directed learning module has been produced by Fraser Todd
for FrasersCEPblog and is used on the postgraduate paper PSMX 404 Assessment of Addiction and Coexisting Diso
It may not be altered or used in any other form without permission of Fraser Todd.
[email protected]
Overview of the Module
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This self directed learning module (SDL) provides a basic introduction to the physical and medical complications of
substance use and mental health problems.
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You may chose which sections to read by clicking on the topic below. Those indicated with a 
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Alternatively you may simply progress through all the slides in sequential order:
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are essential topics.
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presentation, or when in a sans serif font to resources elsewhere on the internet.
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The topics covered in this SDL module are:
1. Introduction
2. Physical health and the comprehensive assessment 
3. Physical complications by drug 
4. Mental health problems secondary to medical illness
5. Prenatal Drug Effects 
6. Understanding laboratory tests 
7. Some Specific Conditions 
( = essential reading for PSMX 404)
1. Introduction
The physical or medical complications of CEP are as important as the mental health and addiction issues that occur, and
cause significant reductions quality of life and life span. Fortunately most patients have access to doctors, especially
general practitioners who are able to assist with this area of care. Regardless, many patients do not consult their GP’s
regularly and it is important of a competent CEP clinician to have an awareness of the symptoms and course of
intervention of the major physical complications of CEP.
Among the wide range of physical complications of substance use and CEP, there are several conditions that practitioners
must have a reasonable knowledge of because they are serious conditions that are potentially preventable or treatable.
These include:
1. Overdose
2. Wernicke-Koraskoff’s Syndrome
3. Hepatitis C
4. Liver disease due to alcohol, especially cirrhosis of the liver.
For those unfamiliar with medical terminology there are online available. These include:
Online dictionary of medical terms
Online description of diseases and conditions
2. Physical Health & the Comprehensive Assessment 
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Physical health or medical problems are as important as mental health and addiction problems in determining a
persons quality of life.
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Fortunately, all our patients have the ability to access General Practitioners who can care for there physical health. A
working relationship with the patients GP is an essential part of there health care.
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Screening for physical health problems should therefore be an integral part of every comprehensive assessment.
As a minimum, the following areas need to be enquired
about… 
1. GP?
Does the person have a current GP? Who and contact details?
2. Medical diagnoses
Any current medical diagnoses, treatments, test results & further investigations
Significant past medical diagnoses
3. Medications
Use generic names not trade names
Include psychiatric and addiction related medications
Dosage and frequency . Compliance?
4. Screen for specific conditions
1. Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome 
2. HBV/HCV/HIV 
Risk factors
Last tested
3. Injecting drug use – check for needle marks 
4. Sexually transmitted diseases
5. Past head injuries
6. Past Seizures
7. Chest and abdominal pain
5. General review of any other problems
(see next slide)
For a more comprehensive exploration, consider the following
systems or headings…
1. Systemic
e.g. sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s), other infectious diseases (Hep B, Hep C, HIV),
cancer, autoimmune (SLE)
2. Cardiovascular
e.g. arrhythmias, high blood pressure,
3. Respiratory
e.g. pneumonia
4. Gastrointestinal (GI)
e.g. constipation, nausea, vomiting
5. Musculoskeletal (MS)
e.g. rhabdomyolysis
6. Renal
e.g. renal failure
7. Liver
e.g. liver cirrhosis
8. Neurological
e.g. cognitive impairment, stroke
9. Endocrine and hormonal
e.g. hypogonadism
10. Prenatal effects
e.g. foetal alcohol syndrome
3. Physical Complications by Drug 
1. Opioids
2. Stimulants
3. Injecting Drug Users
4. Alcohol
5. Benzodiazepines
6. Cannabis
7. Nicotine
8. Solvents
Opioids 
Most of the complications of opioid use are due to injecting drug use. Overdose also a significant problem.
The mortality rate for opioid users is approximately 13x higher than that for peers who do not use opioids.
Complications of opioid use include:
Overdose
2-4% of overdoses are fatal
33-66% of IV opioid users experience an overdose
Most commonly occurs in long term users in their 30’s
Complications of non-fatal overdose:
• pulmonary odeama and pneumonia
• peripheral neuropathy (lack of sensation in hands and feet – glove and stocking)
• renal failure
• cognitive impairment
• rhabdomyolysis (muscle destruction)
• injuries sustained during overdose
Cardiovascular
Increased QT interval – ask about faints, palpitations and irregular heart beats
Gastrointestinal
Slowed GI system motility = ask about constipation
Endocrine
Hyp0gonadism (small testicles)
Stimulants
Most complications are due to the effects on vascular system, especially from vasoconstriction and increased oxygen
demand of muscle
Complications of stimulant use include:
Systemic
Hyperthermia or heat stroke from impaired sweating and decreased peripheral vasodilation
Cardiovascular
Chest pain is common, occasionally myocardial infarction
Cardiac arrhythmias
Endocarditis – infection of heart muscle and heart valves
Neurological
Stroke
Respiratory
Lung effects from the injection of chalk from crushed tablets
Dental
Problems with teeth from methamphetamine
Nasal
Erosion of nasal septum from snorted cocaine
Musculoskeletal
Rhabdomyolysis - especially in younger users of methamphetamine
Injecting Drug Users 
The mortality for IVDU’s is approximately 2.3% per year. This is may be due to overdose, physical complications such as
infection and particular note should be made of the injection of impurities such as chalk from crushed tablets or
adulterants used to convert drugs such as morphine into home-bake.
Infection is a major risk for IVDU’s, especially:
• Hepatitis C (HCV), Hepatitis B (HBV) and HIV
• Bacterial endocarditis
• Abscesses
• Cellulitis at injection site
• Pulmonary (lung) infection
Factors associated with infection risk:
• sharing of needles and syringes (cleaning of needles and syringes is likely to reduce the risk but effectiveness in
removing Hep C virus unclear)
• sharing of other injecting equipment very common
• being injected by another person also common practice (...inadequate emphasis on hand washing…)
• failure to clean injection site
• using heavily colonized sites (lots of bacteria) such as femoral vein
• crushing tablets and capsules in mouth…
• blowing out clots in needles, licking needles or using saliva…
Alcohol I
Alcohol use affects most body systems.
Women are more susceptible to the physical harms at lower doses of alcohol.
Note that recent Australian Guidelines differ from the ALAC guidelines and suggest lower levels of use:
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Australian Guidelines:
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No more than two standard drinks on any day reduces harm
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No more than four drinks on any one occasion reduces risk of injury
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Under 15 nil, 15-17 delay onset as long as possible
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Pregnant or breast feeding = nil
Alcohol II 
Neurological
Wernicke-Korsakoff’Syndrome
Alcohol Dementia and cerebellar degeneration
Peripheral neuropathy – pain, weakness, reduced sensation = ‘glove and stocking’
Head Trauma - subdural haematoma - easily confused with intoxication
Strokes
Seizures (withdrawal)
Gastrointestinal
Reflux, gastritis and peptic ulcer
Mallory-Weiss – oesophageal tear due to vomiting, can cause fatal bleeding
Pancreatitis
Liver
Fatty liver - usually asymptomatic
Alcoholic hepatitis - asymptomatic or ascites and jaundice
Liver cirrhosis
Hepatocarcinoma
Cardiovascular
High blood pressure, arrhythmias, cardiac failure
Other systems
Folate deficiency (especially in pregnancy = spina bifida)
Cancers of mouth, upper respiratory tract, oesophagus, liver, colon, breast
Benzodiazepines
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Seizures (withdrawal) – seizures in general carry a signficant risk of death 
Respiratory depression - especially with opioids, a significant cause of death from overdose 
Anterograde amnesia
Sedation and incoordination
Complications of intravenous use as mentioned above, if benzodiazepines are injected
Often benzodiazepine users are polydrug users; there is a need to consider physical complications from other drugs
Occasionally dizzyness, blurred vision, constipation, muscle weakness, motor incoordination – may impair driving
Cannabis 
Laboratory studies suggest that there are many potential harms from cannabis use, but it remains unclear whether these
actually impair physical health in humans.
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There is good evidence that cannabis may be associated with:
Cognitive; short term memory, attention
Intrauterine exposure; inattention, poor problem solving and behavioural problems beginning in middle childhood
Chronic respiratory dysfunction similar to smoking
Myocardial infarction in those with heart disease and vulnerable to hear attacks
There is weak evidence or suggestions that cannabis may:
lead to lung cancers similar to those caused by smoking nicotine, but occurring at a younger age
Dysfunction of immune, endocrine and reproductive systems
Nicotine 
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Chronic airways disease
Lung cancer
Cardiac disease and myocardial infarction
Stroke
Peripheral vascular disease
Other cancers; upper respiratory, GI tract, pancreas, bladder, kidney etc
Infertility and impotence
Diabetes
Miscarriage, preterm birth, low birth weight, SIDS
Solvents 
The effects of solvents vary depending on the specific solvent or gas. In general the following physical
complications may occur:
Acute
Hypoxia and respiratory depression
Aspiration of vomit
Cardiac failure and arrhythmias
Motor in-coordination
Laryngeal spasm especially from butane and cold expanding gases e.g. nitrous oxide
Chronic
Brain damage
Liver damage
4. Mental Health Problems Due to Medical Illness
A wide range of medical conditions may directly cause mental health problems and many others are associated with
increased rates of comorbid mental health problems.
It is important to be aware of these associations and to consider them when faced with certain mental health symptoms or
when a particular medical condition is present.
The next slide list some of the more common or important medical conditions that may present with psychiatric problems.
Further reading
Mental Health Problems Due to Medical Illness II
Many conditions can lead to delirium , the key feature of which is disorientation and confusion.
There are also a wide range of medical conditions that can present as or worsen mental health disorders. Often the
presentation
Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) can often mimic major depression and be hard to detect. Thyroid function tests (TFT’s)
are often routinely performed when a person presents with major depression.
Hypothyroidism can also be a side effect of lithium treatment and may destabilise bipolar disorder. TFT’s are also indicated
therefore in someone with bipolar disorder treated with lithium where there is a deterioration in control of mood swings
or treatment is not fully effective.
Neurological
Brain tumour, multiple sclerosis (depression, hypomania), head injury (depression, mood
swings, bipolar) stroke (depression), epilepsy (psychosis, bipolar)
Endocrine
Hypothyroidism (depression)  , hyperthyroidism (anxiety, hypomania?)
Infection
Syphilis (psychosis)
Other systems
Systemic lupus erythematosus (psychosis), Huntington’s disease (psychosis), Parkinson’s
disease (psychosis), anaemia (depression)
5. Prenatal Drug Exposure 
Further Reading:
Alcohol
Foetal Alcohol Spectrum
Cannabis
Poor memory, problem-solving, attention in school aged, ?behavioural disturbance
Opioids
Risk of miscarriage with opioid withdrawal, addicted babies, developmental delay
MDMA (Ecstasy)
Third trimester exposure associated with memory problems in animals. ?Humans
Benzodiazepines
Foetal withdrawal symptoms if taken near birth, probably no long term effects
Stimulants
Not well studied.
Methamphetamine may be associated with placental abruption, premature birth, a range
of poor birth outcomes & difficulties and cognitive impairments during development.
Inhalants
Not well studied. Possibility of birth defects and developmental delay with some solvents
Nicotine
Low birth weight, withdrawal symptoms, increased risk of sudden infant death (SIDS),
possible learning and behavioural problems, increased risk of subsequent nicotine
addiction in those with foetal exposure.
6. Understanding Laboratory tests
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Laboratory investigations are frequently performed on people with CEP. A basic knowledge for a case manager should
include and awareness of the following:
Alcohol Biomarkers and liver function tests
Drug Testing
Cannabinoid:creatinine ratio
Hepatitis C testing
Thyroid Function Tests
Alcohol Biomarkers and LFT’s
Alcohol biomarkers are physiological measures that can add to self-report information to indicate the presence or extent
of a drinking problem, and the progress in treatment. None are diagnostic of alcohol dependence and all can be caused
by other physical health problems. However, they can be useful when someone is know to be a heavy drinker, or raise
suspicion if not. Liver enzymes
Liver damage from many sources leads to the release of enzymes into the blood which may be measured. These include:
Gamma-glutamyle transpeptidase (GGT) – levels over 50 IU is suggest of liver damage; lots of causes. When elevated in
known heavy drinkers, a useful indicator of alcohol consumption.
Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) - not particularly sensitive or specific
Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) - not particularly sensitive or specific
Red blood cell mean cell volume (MCV)
Heavy drinking can increase MCV of red corpuscles. However, many other things can also do this.
Carbohydrate-deficient Transferrin (CDT)
After about two weeks of moderate to heavy drinking, transferrin starts to be produced that lacks carbohydrates in its
structure (therefore CDT). The percentage of transferrin that is carbohydrate deficient is usually reported. Levels above
3% usually indicate heavy drinking, and remain elevated for approximately two weeks. However, many heavy drinkers
do not show increased %CDT.
EtG and EtS
Ethyl glucoronide (EtG) and Ethyl Sulafte (EtS) are present in the urine after even small amounts of alcohol. If present
they do not indicate heavy alcohol use, but may be useful to monitor abstinence.
The Clinical Use of Alcohol Biomarkers
Few of the biomarkers of alcohol use are specific enough to diagnose heavy drinking; they may be elevated for many
other reasons, and may be normal in some very heavy drinkers.
Screening
While no physiological test is diagnostic of heavy alcohol use, many clinicians use a combination of GGT + CDT as
screening tools. Elevations indicate further questioning around alcohol use levels.
Enhancing motivation and documenting progress
If a person has known heavy alcohol use and high levels of GGT, the levels reduce as drinking reduces. Regular
measurement of GGT may provide objective confirmation of progress in reducing alcohol use which may be useful in
reinforcing change in the clinical setting.
Assessing for abstinence and identifying relapse
In people who are abstinent from alcohol urinary EtG or EtS may be useful where available to indicate relapse. This
may be particularly useful when a patients return to work is dependent on them not drinking, though in such cases a
breath analysis is probably a better option. Similarly %CDT may be an indicator of heavy consumption in those aiming
to drink in moderation.
Further Reading
Drug Testing 
Testing for the presence of drugs in the body can be done on urine, hair or blood. Urine testing is the most common
method.
Urine drug tests (like other forms of testing) have a minimum level of drug below which levels will be reported as if the drug
is not present.
It is highly unlikely that passive cannabis use would return a positive screen for cannabis.
Poppy seed contains small amounts of opium. However, to produce a positive screen for opioids, a very large amount of
poppy seed would need to be consumed.
Various strategies are used by clients to avoid drug detection in urinary screens. This includes the use of adulterants and the
dilution of urine with water. Current testing methods detect most common forms of adulteration and can detect urine
samples likely to be diluted with water.
It should be noted that the cannabis metabolite measured in most urine tests is not THC, but an INACTIVE metabolite of
cannabis. Thus a positive screen indicates recent exposure to cannabis but does NOT indicate intoxication.
Further reading on drug testing in opioid treatment
Drug Testing – detection periods 
Drug
Urine*
Hair*
Blood*
6-24 hours
2 days
12-24 hours
Methamphetamine
3-5
90
1-3
Other amphetamines
1-5
90
12 hours
24 hours
90
24 hours
<7 (short term use)
4-6 weeks (chronic use >12 months)
90
6-48 hours
2-7 (occasional use)
30+ (chronic use)
90
2-14
Cocaine
2-5
90
2-5
Codeine
2-3
90
?
Morphine
2-4
90
1-3 days
3
90
24 hours
Not detectable
Not detectable
Not detectable
Alcohol
MDMA
Benzodiazepines
Cannabis
Methadone
LSD
* Days unless otherwise specified
Cannabinoid:Creatinine Ratio 
Cannabinoids are cleared from the body through the kidneys and are sensitive to day to day differences in kidney
function. Thus urinary levels of cannabinoids are not a good indicator of the amount of cannabis used. Nor are they a
reliable indicator of whether cannabis use is decreasing or not.
The cannabinoid:creatinine ratio takes into account how the kidneys are functioning and provides a better measure of
changes in cannabis use. Again, the initial ratio does not indicate the amount of cannabis used, but changes from the
initial baseline ratio provides a good indication as to whether cannabis use is reducing or increasing.
Thus a cannabinoid:creatinine ratio is very useful in providing objective feedback to tangata whaiora trying to reduce
cannabis use and can be highly motivating as a result.
Hepatitis C testing 
The routine test for Hepatitis C is a blood test of antibodies. This looks for the presence of antibodies against Hepatitis C
in the blood, and if present (positive) indicates that the person has at some point been exposed to the Hepatitis C virus.
However, often the virus is no longer present or active.
The initial test performed detects the presence of HCV antibodies. This simply indicates that the person has been
exposed to HCV at some point. It may not be active.
Abnormal liver function tests suggest ongoing active HCV infection which is damaging the liver.
To confirm the presence of the virus, a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) blood test is performed. This detects the
presence of the specific HCV RNA. When positive, current HCV infection is present and further treatment
(e.g.interferon treatment) should be considered.
Thyroid Function Tests (TFT’s)
Thyroid function tests measure the various thyroid related hormones in the blood and allow a diagnosis of
hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism to be made.
TRH (Thyroid Releasing Hormone) stimulates the
pituitary to release TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone)
TSH stimulates the release of thyroid hormone from the
thyroid gland in the neck.
T3 is the main active metabolite
T4 is also active and commonly measured. It is the T4that
is free i.e. not protein bound that is important. This is
measured and called the Free Thyroid Index (FT4I)
T3 and T4 reduce TRH secretion by negative feedback.
Hypothyroidism typically is associated with low T3 and
FT4I and increased TSH (due to less negative feedback of
T3 and T4
Hyperthyroidism is associated with increased levels of T3
and FT4I, and low TSH (due to negative feedback of T3
and T4)
Thyroid Function in Bipolar Disorder
Abnormal thyroid function may destabilise bipolar disorder leading to increased episodes of depressed or elevated
mood.
Lithium Carbonate is frequently prescribed as a mood stabiliser for bipolar disorder and may cause hypothyroidism.
Regular TFT’s are therefore indicated in people on Lithium Carbonate.
Subtle under-activity of the thyroid, at levels insufficient to cause other symptoms of hypothyroidism or to reduce FT4I
and T3 levels below normal (subclinical hypothyroidism) may still destablise bipolar disorder.
In this case, TSH will be in the upper normal range and may indicate treatment. For example, where the normal range
of TSH may be below 5 mIU/L many clinicians would treat if TSH was in fact above 2.5 – 3 mIU/L
Increased QT interval
The QT interval is the time or distance on an ECG between the Q
and T waves, which represent the depolarization and
repolarization of heart muscle as the ventricles contract and relax.
A prolonged QT interval may result in a ventricular arrhythmia
and sudden death
Causes of a prolonged QT include genetic, drugs such as
methadone, older antipsychotics and medical conditions such as
hypothyroidism. Some SSRI’s may lead to arrhythmia in those
with genetically caused prolonged QT interval
It may be triggered by sudden exercise of emotional stress.
Some people experience fainting (syncope) due to it, but often
there is no warning prior to a fatal episode.
Diagnosis is made on the basis of an ECG showing prolonged QT
It can usually be effectively treated with medication (beta
blockers)
7. Some Specific Conditions 
The following section outlines briefly some important conditions that you should be aware of at a basic level and some links
for further reading. Practitioners with some medical training (nurses, doctors) would be expected to know more than
the basic information included here.
Hepatitis C (HCV) 
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Between 75-90% of IVDU’s are positive for HCV
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Many are infected in first year of use
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HCV is often asymptomatic
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70-80% of those infected develop chronic HCV infection. In the other cases, the infection is cleared from the body
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Of those with chronic HCV, 60-70% have abnormal liver function tests, 5-10% develop cirrhosis and 3-5% develop
liver failure or liver cancer
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Testing for HCV and other blood born infections is essential if not done recently. Tests for HCV involve the
detection of antibodies, of active viral RNA and monitoring of liver function.
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HCV may be treated with a course of antiviral drugs such as interferon.
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Further information including symptoms of HCV infection:
Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome 
Wernicke’s Encephalopathy is a medical emergency and requires immediate medical referral for IV Thiamine followed
by oral thiamine. All patients presenting for detoxification with severe alcohol dependence should be prescribed
thiamine supplements preventatively .
Wernicke’s Encephalopathy (WE) and Korsakoff Syndrome (KS) are both caused by vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency.
This is most commonly caused by dietary insufficiency (Beri Beri) in undeveloped countries or by chronic heavy alcohol
use in more developed countries, though there are other causes as well. The acute syndrome, WE, is due to effects on
the lower brain regions and is reversible with thiamine replacement, while KS usually emerges after the acute WE
symptoms subside and tends to be much less reversible.
Wernicke’s Encephalopathy:
The classical triad of presenting symptoms are
 Confusion
 Ataxia (staggering gate)
 Nystagmus (side to side or up and down eye flickering)
However, these are only present in a minority of cases.
Korsakoff Syndrome
Anterograde (learning) and retrograde (past) memory impairment which tends to be noticeable after the initial
confusion of WE subsides. In severe cases, thought to be irreversible.
Further reading:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001776/
Alcoholic Liver Disease 
Alcohol related liver problems involve three disease:
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Fatty liver
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Alcoholic hepatitis
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Liver cirrhosis
Fatty Liver:
Fat deposits in the liver seldom causing symptoms and is reversible with abstinence.
Alcoholic Hepatitis:
Acute inflammation of the liver causing high temperature, abdominal pain and jaundice. High mortality rates in the
early stages so requires urgent medical referral. Corticosteroids may be helpful.
Liver Cirrhosis:
Liver cirrhosis is the replacement of normal liver tissue with scar tissue due to damage. It is usually irreversible and
frequently fatal over a number of years.
It is most often caused by chronic heavy alcohol use or Hepatitis B or C though there are many other causes
It occurs in about 30% of chronic alcoholics and has a wide range of signs and symptoms, including weakness, fatigue,
anorexia, jaundice, ascites, confusion,, testicular atrophy, but it is usually asymptomatic in the early stages.
Diagnosis is on the basis of clinical presentation, liver function tests, radiology, liver biopsy.
Treatment involves treating underlying causes, avoiding other things that damage the liver e.g. paracetamol, and liver
transplant.
Substance-related Brain Injury
Facial features of foetal alcohol syndrome
(From: http://www.nsnet.org/nsfas/symptoms.html)
Further Reading:
Substance-related brain injury
Foetal Alcohol Spectrum
http://www.intellectualdisability.info/diagnosis/fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder-an-overview
http://www.arbias.org.au/fasd-services/resources.html
The End
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