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Management of Acute and Chronic Drug Abuse of Amphetamines

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Substance Abuse

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Abstract

Amphetamine was first discovered in the 1800s, although not used in clinical medicine until the 1930s. Historically, it was used to treat congestion and battle fatigue but more modern clinical applications include use in treatment of narcolepsy, ADHD and weight loss. It is a commonly used recreational drug, with 0.7 % of the world’s population aged 15–64 having ingested amphetamine in 2012. Acute intoxications have serious complications, in particular cardiac and neurological. Chronic misuse has significant clinical and sociological impact. This chapter discusses history of amphetamine misuse, pharmacology, acute management of amphetamine intoxication and chronic misuse.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. St George’s Hospital, Blackshaw Road, London, SW17 0QT, UK

    Sahra Lantz-Dretnik M.B.B.S., B.Sc. (Hon.), F.R.C.A.

  2. Department of Anesthesia and Pain Management, Nottingham University Hospital in United Kingdom, 3 Melrose Gardens, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, UK

    Michal Czernicki F.R.C.A., F.F.P.M.R.C.A., M.D.

  3. Department of Anesthetics and Pain Management, Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, Wryth Lane, SM5 1AA, Carshalton, UK

    Sreekumar Kunnumpurath MBBS, MD, FFPMRCA, FRCA, FCARCSI

Authors
  1. Sahra Lantz-Dretnik M.B.B.S., B.Sc. (Hon.), F.R.C.A.
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  2. Michal Czernicki F.R.C.A., F.F.P.M.R.C.A., M.D.
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  3. Sreekumar Kunnumpurath MBBS, MD, FFPMRCA, FRCA, FCARCSI
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sahra Lantz-Dretnik M.B.B.S., B.Sc. (Hon.), F.R.C.A. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Louisiana State University Interim Hospital, and Ochsner Kenner Hospital, Departments of Anesthesiology and Pharmacology, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

    Alan David Kaye

  2. Department of Anesthesiology, Yale University School of Medicine and Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

    Nalini Vadivelu

  3. Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Richard D. Urman

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Lantz-Dretnik, S., Czernicki, M., Kunnumpurath, S. (2015). Management of Acute and Chronic Drug Abuse of Amphetamines. In: Kaye, A., Vadivelu, N., Urman, R. (eds) Substance Abuse. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1951-2_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1951-2_13

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-1950-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-1951-2

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