Withdrawal, Drug

Withdrawal, Drug is a topic covered in the 5-Minute Emergency Consult.

To view the entire topic, please or .

Emergency Central is a collection of disease, drug, and test information including 5-Minute Emergency Medicine Consult, Davis’s Drug, McGraw-Hill Medical’s Diagnosaurus®, Pocket Guide to Diagnostic Tests, and MEDLINE Journals created for emergency medicine professionals. Explore these free sample topics:

-- The first section of this topic is shown below --

Basics

Description

  • Neuroexcitation is the hallmark of benzodiazepine, barbiturate, and opiate withdrawal
  • Benzodiazepine and barbiturate withdrawal can be life threatening
  • Opiate withdrawal can be extremely uncomfortable but is not typically life threatening
  • Cocaine and amphetamine withdrawal are similarly not life threatening

Etiology

  • Chronic exposure to certain drugs cause adaptive changes in the CNS
  • Withdrawal syndromes occur when the constant presence of drug is removed or reduced and the adaptive changes persist
  • Tolerance occurs when increasing amounts of drug are required to achieve a given response
  • Withdrawal and tolerance are distinct entities

-- To view the remaining sections of this topic, please or --

Basics

Description

  • Neuroexcitation is the hallmark of benzodiazepine, barbiturate, and opiate withdrawal
  • Benzodiazepine and barbiturate withdrawal can be life threatening
  • Opiate withdrawal can be extremely uncomfortable but is not typically life threatening
  • Cocaine and amphetamine withdrawal are similarly not life threatening

Etiology

  • Chronic exposure to certain drugs cause adaptive changes in the CNS
  • Withdrawal syndromes occur when the constant presence of drug is removed or reduced and the adaptive changes persist
  • Tolerance occurs when increasing amounts of drug are required to achieve a given response
  • Withdrawal and tolerance are distinct entities

There's more to see -- the rest of this topic is available only to subscribers.