Caffeine is sometimes used to maintain alertness and performance enhancement. Caffeine can induce psychosis in healthy patients as well as exacerbate psychotic symptoms in patients with psychotic disorders. One patient, a 22 year old man in the United States of America, with a past psychiatric history significant for childhood trauma presented to the emergency department in acute distress secondary to racing thoughts, formication, persecutory auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations, delusions of control, paranoia and high risk behaviors after five straight nights without sleep.

Behavioral health professionals will be able to recognize symptoms of caffeine intoxication, compare different presentations of caffeine intoxication and identify caffeine related disorders per DSMIV-TR. They will also be able to examine the complex factors, including use of caffeinated energy drinks, which contributed to the admission of this patient to an inpatient psychiatric unit for stabilization of acute psychotic symptoms.

Educate behavioral health care providers and stimulate discussion of the use of caffeine in different patient populations.

Use case-based learning to achieve objectives and aims above.

Caffeine use can result in the appearance of symptoms consistent with depression, anxiety and psychosis.

Psychiatric patients, as well as the general population, would benefit to receive education on caffeine consumption and overuse.