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Aim of the Study: The past twenty years have seen a rise in cocaine-related statistics in France, including cocaine use in the general population, emergency ward presentations of acute cocaine intoxication, cocaine use disorders related outpatient appointments and cocaine-related deaths. This study's objectives were to describe trends in patients' admission for specific cocaine detoxification as well as changes in patients' characteristics in the Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) hospitals group located in Paris region, France., Methods: We reviewed the international classification of diseases 10 th edition (ICD-10) discharge codes of the AP-HP hospitals group between 2011 and 2021. In addition, medical reports of the largest addiction medicine ward were also analysed for changes across the years 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2022., Results: The regional database showed an almost 3-fold increase in cocaine-related disorders discharge codes between 2011 and 2019. This occurred due to a rise in hospital stays for cocaine dependence or cocaine acute intoxication prior to the fall in levels of inpatient stays associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The in-depth analysis of inpatients' stays in the specialized addiction medicine ward also showed an increase in admissions for cocaine detoxification programs, with a prevalence of 1.19% in 2009 to 15.73% in 2022 (P=1.44×10 -20 ). Inpatient characteristics showed significant changes, especially in 2022, namely: more daily users, less intravenous administration and less comorbid illicit substances use disorders, with heightened levels of cured hepatitis C patients (P<0.05). Inpatient prescriptions were primarily dopaminergic antagonists with sedatives properties (cyamemazine, loxapine and chlorpromazine), dopamine-receptors partial agonist (aripiprazole) and serotonin reuptake inhibitors., Conclusion: The referral to hospital care for cocaine detoxification has increased in Paris region since 2011, coupled with changes in inpatients' characteristics. This trend has significant implications for the management of inpatient hospital services., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.)

Intranasal naloxone aims at preventing opioid overdose related deaths in active drug users. In France, it has been available since July 2016 through a temporary approval which requires a hospital-based pharmacy and a nominative registration of each patient. We present the characteristics of the first patients who could receive this prescription in our hospital-based addiction center and how they used naloxone during follow-up. Results favor a larger dispensing of naloxone. Patients' as well as peers' and families' education is needed., (Copyright © 2018 Société française de pharmacologie et de thérapeutique. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Seven studies evaluated pharmacological treatments and 12 studies evaluated non-pharmacological interventions including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), minimal interventions toward patients, pharmacists or physicians, or dedicated visits, in order to discontinue benzodiazepines treatments. Among pharmacological treatments, only melatonin was significantly efficacious in patients suffering from insomnia alone. BCT showed efficacy in increasing self-efficacy feeling toward BZD cessation and in patients with sleep disorders. Minimal interventions and dedicated visits were significantly efficacious with favourable cost-effectiveness ratio. No study investigated patients with high-doses of benzodiazepine, or with addiction, somatic or psychiatric disorders., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Benzodiazepines and Z-drugs have pharmacodynamic effects with tolerance that can occur quickly, after one week to one month of treatment and that concerns hypnotic and anxiolytic properties in particular. Old studies showed a real but poor short-term efficacy of benzodiazepines on anxiety and sleep disturbances. Long-term efficacy of benzodiazepines can be confused with the occurrence of rebound effect, discontinuation symptoms or relapse when the treatment is quitted; they contribute to an apparent efficacy, as well as the symptoms removal when treatment is re-initiated. Pharmacologic tolerance exists with respects to efficacy and side effects that decrease over time, in the first weeks of treatment. Its main associated characteristic is the occurrence of a severe withdrawal syndrome when treatment is quitted. To limit long-term treatments, it is relevant to target treatment initiation of benzodiazepines and to restrict indications and treatment duration. Addiction to benzodiazepines is frequent in patients treated for another addiction; it is associated with more frequent complications, in particular overdoses and suicide attempts. The use of benzodiazepines is necessary to prevent complications during alcohol or benzodiazepine withdrawal, but duration of treatment should be limited and dispensing should be supervised in patients with substance use disorders., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Background: Methadone is prescribed in France as a maintenance treatment for heroin dependence since 1969. Nevertheless, the optimal duration of methadone maintenance treatment and how detoxification from methadone at the end of the treatment should be performed is still discussed., Objective: To conduct a literature review on when and how detoxify clients from methadone maintenance treatment and to collect the opinion of experts in the field. DOCUMENTARY SOURCES: We searched the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and PsycINFO databases on the 1966-2011 period using the keywords "methadone", "maintenance", "detoxification", "tapering", "cessation", "withdrawal". We also searched data in other addictive journals in French that are not available in those databases. We also collected the opinion of the physician in charge of the oldest methadone program in France (1969). STUDIES SELECTION: We excluded studies that used methadone as short time treatment of heroin withdrawal and thus selected 23 articles., Results: There is a consensus on when methadone maintenance treatment should be stopped, defined by the client's will to stop, the judgement from the physician that the client has been stable for a period of time that is long enough, but also the client's motivation to live his life without maintenance treatment. There is also a majority, among articles on how methadone treatment should be stopped, recommending ambulatory, practical approaches using slow tapering of the dose, with the ability to go back to the previous dose if needed, namely in case of relapse to heroin use, heavy withdrawal or psychiatric symptoms., Limits: There are few articles addressing the subject, especially comparing prospectively different cessation strategies., Conclusion: Methadone maintenance treatment should not necessarily be maintained all life long and can be stopped within its prescription setting, including medical, psychological and social evaluation., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)