Zeitschrift für Alkoholismus und Drogenabhängigkeit
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GHB Dependence: Lessons from a Small Case Series

Mike McDonough

This case series identifies all patients presenting for GHB related problems to Western Hospital’s Drug Health Service (between 2009-2012) and specifically focuses upon the small subgroup which have GHB Dependence and required hospitalisation. Of eight such cases, only one had a complicated inpatient course, reported the highest GHB daily dose consumption (~30 gm/day) and was concurrently Alcohol Dependent. All the other patients responded to supportive nursing care and simple pharmacotherapy with diazepam. The majority of patients with GHB Dependence in this review also took other drugs and also had an uncomplicated GHB withdrawal process. Hence, the outcome of this review questions the need for hospital admission in most cases of GHB Dependence except for cases involving high dose Dependence (e.g. >30 gm/day); this finding is consistent with recent literature reports.