[Psychopathologic evaluation of cocaine-dependent patients].
OBJECTIVE
To study the presence of psychopathology in patients seeking treatment for cocaine abuse.


METHODS
Case/control study.


METHODS
Addictive conduct unit. Treatment of addiction to legal and illegal drugs. Primary care.


METHODS
Patients seeking treatment for cocaine abuse (n = 35). Control group of people with no drug-abuse problems (n = 40).


RESULTS
Evaluation of psychopathology through the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI, Derogatis, 1975). Patients who abused cocaine scored high in the BSI, especially in the paranoid ideas (mean = 1.48) and obsessive-compulsive (mean = 1.25) dimensions. When the cocaine group was compared with the control group, there were significant differences in 11 of the 12 indicators. The most relevant significance occurred in the paranoid ideas and psychotic dimensions (p = 0.000).


CONCLUSIONS
The high prevalence of psychiatric symptoms in patients seeking cocaine-abuse treatment was confirmed. The high scores in the obsessive-compulsive, anxiety and general malaise dimensions hindered the process of treatment in order to stop using the drug, in that the scores drop when consumption stops but start up again intensively in the following days. Given the characteristics of these patients, the BSI seems a useful instrument for guiding the diagnosis and treatment of people who abuse cocaine.
Sánchez Hervás
E
E
Unidad de Conductas Adictivas Area 9, Catarroja, Consellería de Sanitat, Valencia.
Tomás Gradolí
V
V
Morales Gallús
E
E
D000328:Adult; D010054:Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D004493:Education; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012737:Sex Factors