HALLUCINATIONS

HALLUCINATIONS: Excerpt from Algorithmic Diagnosis of Symptoms and Signs

Ask the Following Questions:

1. Is there a history of drug or alcohol ingestion? Hallucinations are common during alcohol withdrawal but also may be noted in cocaine addiction, marijuana addiction, LSD intoxication, and PCP intoxication.
2. Are the hallucinations primarily visual in nature? This would suggest an organic cause such as organic brain syndrome, epilepsy, brain tumor, etc.
3. Are the hallucinations episodic? If the hallucinations occur in episodes with normal behavior in between, one should consider epilepsy or narcolepsy.
4. Are the hallucinations associated with early stages of falling asleep or awakening? These types of hallucinations are called hypnogogic and are common in narcolepsy but may also be seen in normal people.
5. Are the hallucinations primarily auditory in nature? This is the type of hallucination most commonly associated with schizophrenia.

DIAGNOSTIC WORKUP

A blood alcohol level and urine drug screen are essential at the outset. Most physicians will want to refer the patient to a psychiatrist if these studies are negative. However, the interested physician may proceed further with a wake-and-sleep EEG to identify psychomotor epilepsy, or a CT scan and MRI to identify brain tumors and other causes of organic brain syndrome. Remember, the MRI costs twice as much as a CT scan. A spinal tap will be helpful in diagnosing central nervous system lues. A sleep study will help diagnose narcolepsy. Psychometric testing will help identify schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders.

Book Source Details

• Book Title: Algorithmic Diagnosis of Symptoms and Signs
• Author(s): R. Douglas Collins
• Year of Publication: 2003
• Copyright Details: Algorithmic Diagnosis of Symptoms and Signs, Copyright © 2003 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

More About Heroin dependence

• Back to disease: Heroin dependence: Introduction
• Next Book Extract About Heroin dependence: Hallucinations (In a Page: Signs and Symptoms)
• More Book Extracts: All Online Books for Heroin dependence

More Medical Textbooks Online about Heroin dependence

Review other book chapters online related to Heroin dependence:

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

More About This Book: Title: Algorithmic Diagnosis of Symptoms and Signs Authors: R. Douglas Collins Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Copyright: 2003 ISBN: 0-7817-3805-9

 » Next page: Hallucinations (In a Page: Signs and Symptoms)

Rate This Website

What do you think about the features of this website? Take our user survey and have your say:

Website User Survey

Medical Tools & Articles:

Next articles:

• Hallucinations (In a Page: Signs and Symptoms)
• Hallucinations (In A Page: Pediatric Signs and Symptoms)
• HALLUCINATIONS (Differential Diagnosis in Primary Care)
• Substance abuse and induced disorders (Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
• Delirium/Hallucinations (Field Guide to Bedside Diagnosis)

Tools & Services:

• Bookmark this page
• Symptom Search
• Symptom Checker
• Medical Dictionary
• Give your feedback

Medical Articles:

• Disease & Treatments Search
• Misdiagnosis Center
• Full list of interesting articles

Forums & Message Boards

• Ask or answer a question at the Boards:
• I cannot get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for my condition?
• See all the Boards.

Enter your search terms Submit search form
Search The Web Search wrongdiagnosis.com

Common Health Mistakes

Symptom
Checker

Search Specialists by State and City