Amphetamine/Stimulant Use: Presentations, complications, interventions.

Concord Seminar Tuesday 30 January 2007

Amphetamine/Stimulant Use: Presentations, complications, interventions.

Speakers: Dr Alex Wodak, Director of the Alcohol and Drug Service, and Ms Tarra Adam, Stimulant Treatment Program, Clinical Program Manager, St Vincent’s Hospital, Darlinghurst. Chaired by Dr Bob Batey.

Dear Colleagues,

Dr Wodak gave an overview of increasing amphetamine use around the world. In 2002, of 91 countries, 56 showed increasing "abuse" of amphetamines, and 11 showed a decrease. There was an increase in amphetamine labs in the years from 1998 to 2004 of 300 to 18,000, with production of Amphetamine Type Substances (ATS) rising from 312 tons to 480 (UNODCCP Global Illicit Drug Trends 2002). Among 15-64 year olds in 2006 there was a prevalence of ATS use in Asia of 0.6%, Oceania of 3%, and Global 0.6% (UNDCP 2006 World Drug Report).

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare statistics show an increase in admissions for amphetamine-related psychosis, from approximately 1000 in 1999/2000 to approximately 1600 in 2003/2004. There has probably been a further increase since then, however the increases have been patchy across the country, with increases in NSW and Victoria being less than other states (a large increase in the year 1999 can be attributed to the change from ICD 9 to ICD 10 definitions).

Recently there has been a trend away from plant based substances to chemical based drugs due to efforts to avoid both the vagaries of weather, and improved surveillance by air and satellite.

To get an idea of the size of the problem in economic terms Dr Wodak pointed out that the size of the illicit "drug industry" in the UK was about the same as British Airways.

Regarding the cost effectiveness of treatment, there have not been any studies specifically looking at amphetamines but it is more cost effective to spend money on cocaine drug treatment than on drug law enforcement (Rydell, Everingham. Controlling Cocaine: Supply Versus Demand Programs, RAND, 1994.) Because of similarities to cocaine, these conclusions may be also relevant to amphetamines.

In the words of the economist Milton Friedman: "So long as large sums of money are involved - and they are bound to be if drugs are illegal - it is literally hopeless to expect to end the traffic or even to reduce seriously its scope. In drugs, as in other areas, persuasion and example are likely to be far more effective than the use of force to shape others in our image."

Dr Wodak described typical presentations of amphetamine use: a psychosis that looks like schizophrenia; severe, even suicidal, depression; aggressive behaviour; strokes, hypertension, and arrhythmias; possibly risky sex including HIV risk; infections from injecting drug use including HCV, septicaemia, bacterial endocarditis; and general "social catastrophes" - financial problems, lost jobs and broken relationships, and gambling problems.

No specific regimen has been found to be better or worse than any other for withdrawal management, as amphetamine withdrawal is not well understood.

Cochrane reviews have found evidence about the treatment for amphetamine psychosis is limited: medications of interest are conventional antipsychotics, newer antipsychotics and benzodiazepines. An injection of "anti-psychotic drugs can help relieve the symptoms of amphetamine psychosis within an hour, but there is not enough evidence to show what can help after that".

Among psychosocial interventions for amphetamine dependence, motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioural therapy show promise. Most in the audience had not used the excellent recommended handbook by Baker, Kay-Lambkin, Lee, Claire and Jenner. “A Brief Cognitive Behavioural Intervention for Regular Amphetamine Users” Department of Health and Ageing 2003 - downloadable from the web: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/Content/health-pubhlth-publicat-document-cognitive_intervention-cnt.htm/$FILE/cognitive_intervention.pdf
Among non-agonist pharmacological treatments for amphetamine dependence, 30-40 different drugs have been evaluated but none really found to be helpful (see Cochrane Review).

Setting the context for agonist pharmacological treatments, Dr Wodak gave the following overview: some amphetamine, especially methamphetamine, users become very chaotic, very volatile, and some become violent. As they may develop paranoia or psychosis, so engaging patients often takes longer, and may be much harder than with other substance dependent patients. They need access to prompt, effective mental health support, and most respond very positively to psychosocial interventions. However a few people with severe intractable use may need Amphetamine Substitution Treatment (AST) in combination with psychosocial interventions.

We were pointed to two reviews of the numerous studies of Amphetamine Substitution Treatment (dating from Griffith Edward’s first study in the 1960s, which gave negative results).
· Shearer J, Sherman J, Wodak A, van Beek I. Substitution therapy for amphetamine users. Drug and Alcohol Review 2002; 21 (2), 179-185.
· Grabowski J, Shearer J, Merrill J, Negus S. Agonist-like replacement pharmacotherapy for stimulant abuse and dependence. Addictive Behaviors. 29 (2004); 1439-1464.
These reviews show that, comparable to the situation for methadone in the 1970s, there is reasonable evidence for the effectiveness and safety of AST. It may be not needed for as high a percentage, nor as long, as for heroin dependent people who need methadone.

Dr Wodak reminded us of the principles of drug substitution treatment:

1. to replace: a short acting drug with a longer action one; an illegal drug with a legal drug; an injectable drug with an oral drug; and
2. to stabilise, counsel, and then where ever possible wean off, as in nicotine replacement, and opioid substitution treatment.

The NSW Department of Health established Stimulant Treatment Programmes in November 2006 at St Vincent’s Hospital, Darlinghurst and in the Hunter New England region. These programmes offer psychosocial interventions but for severe and refractory cases which meet strict criteria, trials are using immediate release dexamphetamine, as slow release amphetamine (which would be preferable) is not yet licensed for use in Australia. There will be daily supervised dosing of 60mg maximum, only for people with severe intractable problems, with small numbers of about 30 per year in each centre. The programmes are being independently evaluated.

The selection criteria are very strict, as Dr Wodak believes it is wiser to start such a treatment with strict limits and later liberalise it if appropriate, rather than "let the genie out of the bottle" too soon.

The power of substitution treatment has been shown in Zurich, where there has been saturation treatment with methadone and other opioids (including prescribed heroin), accompanied by a marked decrease in heroin use, drug overdose, crime and heroin seizures by police, and an 82% reduction in new heroin users from 850 in 1990 to only 150 in 2002. (Nordt, Stohler. Lancet 2006 367 1830-34).

Another benefit may be if ATS acts like a carrot, getting people with problems to ask for help. A number of people on the waiting list for ATS at St Vincent’s Hospital have improved just with psychosocial interventions while being considered for pharmacotherapy.

Tarra Adam then spoke on her work with amphetamine users at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital. She sees those that present at the hospital with problems related to amphetamine use, or who refer themselves.

Some present with aggression or violence which is out of character and worries them. Many have learnt to manage their use reasonably well, before seeking any treatment.

There is a perception that Alcohol and Drug Services are not for them, and historically these services may have had little to offer. ATS users are often suspicious of the service and whether the service can meet their needs, and may appear to be testing out the therapists, having a strong sense of what they want. Often they wish to be seen in a different area or using a separate entrance, because they are "not like the others".

Amphetamine users do tend to show a different profile, being less impoverished and more educated, motivated but hard to engage, often successful at work with a wide range of social contacts, and in better social circumstances than heroin users. Most are daily users, some injecting 3 times a day, some up to 9 times. The majority of people seen at the St Vincent’s Hospital Stimulant Treatment Program are smoking "crystal". Not many switch between amphetamines and cocaine.

A range of therapies is offered, including Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and people may be referred to a “SMART Recovery” group. However CBT may be just too difficult for a person who is chaotic or paranoid, and often experience cognitive impairment during periods of use or whilst in withdrawal. In the early stages of treatment, some people find it difficult to concentrate and connect with how their thoughts and feelings influence their behaviour. In addition, talking about triggers and motivations to change with stimulant users has in our experience, increased people’s craving for the drug and can contribute to ongoing use and/ or relapse. Therefore we concentrate on addressing the wider impact of stimulant use on their sense of self, the impact of use on their relationships, rather than concentrating on the drug use itself.
Therefore, other approaches may be needed, with the aim of trying to engage the person.

Narrative Therapy is an example: here the emphasis is centred on people as the experts in their own lives. It views problems as separate from the person and holds that people come with many skills, beliefs, values and abilities that will assist them to reduce the influence of problems such as stimulants in their lives. People often present to therapy with a problem saturated story that dominates beliefs about themselves and influences the choices they make. Narrative conversations seek out the alternative/ preferred stories –stories that are identified by the person about how they would like to live their lives, what it would mean to them to make these changes and supports them to perform this meaning. The therapist seeks out examples of such stories in their lives which support people to break from the influence of the problems they are facing and create new possibilities for their future by increasing awareness of their skills, beliefs, values, and abilities to reduce the influence of stimulants in their lives. A reference for those interested to know more is "What is Narrative Therapy?" by Alice Morgan (can be ordered from the Dulwich Centre - the link for a summary of her book is: http://www.dulwichcentre.com.au/alicearticle.html)

In the second half, chaired by Dr Bob Batey, a range of case vignettes was discussed.

The first case was a woman who declared "I always shoot speed on my pension day, Doc. It is the only time I ever clean the house … but now all my veins are gone!"

Among the points raised were: possible causes of the exhaustion include following a binge, chronic hepatitis C, and depression. A question was raised about the safety of using antidepressants, including SSRIs, in people who use stimulants, including MDMA. Although this was a theoretical risk, given that these medications and drugs raise monoamine levels in synapses, the expected "epidemic of Serotonin Syndrome has not materialised", as one participant put it. It may be worth suggesting safer ways of administration, as a harm reduction measure, and may be appropriate to refer her for financial management assistance through Centrelink, which offers the Centrepay service for regular payments. It was generally agreed that she was not suitable for AST, given the intermittent nature of her use.

In the second case, a man announced "After I use crystal meth I turn into somebody else. I thought I knew how to fly and jumped off the balcony two storeys up to save using the stairs. Now I’m in plaster with two fractured heels and I can’t even get up those stairs".

Problems like this occur especially with use of other substances as well, such as benzodiazepines, and often end up in jail, or hospital. Once the person settles they may be able to look at their substance use, especially if they are laid up in hospital. An important question is how worried friends or family can help decrease the risk of harms like this: one response is that health professionals need to help "significant others" who seek help in the first instance by helping them look after themselves.

This was also true for the following case, where flatmates sought advice about a young man who had moved in recently from Darlinghurst where "it was too easy to go out every night". He regularly used "ecstasy", took Ritalin for ADD, also selegiline which he read on a web site was good for ADD. He was often up all night, constantly reorganising his room with his things strewn all over the yard. One day he declared angrily "I know you’ve been in my room snooping around. You let things slip that show that you did it. I wish I had video surveillance up there".

Tarra Adam said this was a typical presentation to the Alcohol and Drug Service at St. Vincent's Hospital, except that usually the person absolutely believes that others were doing the video surveillance.

A comment was that nothing could be taken at face value in this case: neither the ADD diagnosis, the precise substances used, nor any other psychiatric diagnosis.

In the next case, a 32 yo man, injecting ATS for 2 years, said: "I'm using ice every day and I can't pull up. Can you give me something to help me detox? Or can I go to a detox somewhere?" Even though the evidence about the amphetamine withdrawal syndrome is limited and there seems to be little benefit from medications, many "detox" facilities will admit amphetamine users. One rehab allows the person to sleep and then clean up, maintaining good hydrations being very important. As many ATS users prefer benzodiazepines to manage their withdrawal, a case could be made in community practice for dispensing a small amount of diazepam to encourage engagement with treatment in future.

The final case was a 34 yo man on MMT for 7 years, 11 years injecting, probably 10 years chronic HCV with fluctuating elevated ALT. His methadone dose was 110 mg and his total testosterone was 5.0 -7.2 mmol/L on repeated (morning) testing. He continued to inject ATS several times a week throughout MMT, saying otherwise he has no energy. He was little motivated to change his ATS use.

The reasons for this man's lack of energy could include hypogonadism (probably from opioids), chronic hepatitis C, depression, or the effect of amphetamines themselves. Among the approaches could be a trial of methadone reductions or androgen replacement (chronic viral hepatitis is not a contraindication for use of testosterone and its esters, which should be used in preference to synthetic androgens). One could offer antiviral treatment for hepatitis C, which may be a motivation to stop injecting drug use (injecting should not be a contraindication for hepatitis C treatment). a trial of antidepressants may be indicated. These strategies should probably be tried serially rather than simultaneously, to avoid diagnostic confusion in the event of an improvement in energy.

Written by Judith Meldrum and Richard Hallinan based on Dr Wodak’s talk.

http://www.redfernclinic.com/