Which of the following drugs may induce a psychosis that is easily confused with, or misdiagnosed as, paranoid schizophrenia?
A. BarbituratesB. Heroin
C. Benzodiazepines
D. Amphetamines
Answer.
D. Amphetamines
• Amphetamine
intoxication can result in a psychosis very closely resembling acute paranoid
schizophrenia, with symptoms including paranoid delusions and visual
hallucinations.
• Some
investigators feel that prominent visual hallucinations and a relative absence
of thought disorder are more characteristic of amphetamine psychosis, but other
investigators feel the symptoms are indistinguishable.
• Other drugs that
produce psychoses similar to schizophrenia include phencyclidine PCP) and
lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).
