Stahl Online is a one-stop shop, covering everything a mental health professional or teacher will ever need to know about neuropsychopharmacology. Comprehensive and regularly updated, Stahl Online provides full access to the entire current portfolio of books by Dr Stephen M. Stahl.
Stahl Online is a one-stop shop, covering everything a mental health professional or teacher will ever need to know about neuropsychopharmacology. Comprehensive and regularly updated, Stahl Online provides full access to the entire current portfolio of books by Dr Stephen M. Stahl.
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For many patients with schizophrenia, substance use predates the first psychotic episode. Patients suffering from their first psychotic break are more likely to be daily cannabis users and have a higher rate of tobacco use [1, 2]. Cannabis appears to exert a dose-dependent effect on the risk of developing a psychotic illness and illness onset is earlier [3]. Methamphetamine may increase the risk of schizophrenia on a par with cannabis [4]. Overall, 13–51% of patients entering treatment with their first psychotic episode have a co-occurring substance use disorder [5]. If substance use continues in parallel with a first-episode psychosis, patients fare more poorly in both the short and long terms.
Antipsychotic medications represent the pharmacological foundation for the treatment of psychosis and psychomotor agitation. While antipsychotics may be prescribed based on accepted dose ranges, as well as patient response and tolerability, measuring plasma concentrations of antipsychotic medications now represents the standard of care [1].
