Addiction Medicine (Oxford Specialist Handbooks)

Addiction Medicine is a concise and practical guide for students and practitioners of medicine and other health professions who come into contact with people with substance use disorders. It provides the knowledge base and the skill set required for good professional practice in this field. Substance use rates amongst the top four risk factors contributing to the global burden of disease. Substance use disorders can cause, mimic, underlie or complicate a large number of common medical and psychiatric disorders. Making a correct diagnosis of the substance use disorder can facilitate clinical diagnosis, avoid unnecessary tests, shorten hospital stay and make the clinician and patient's life easier and safer. Increasingly, the ability to diagnose and initiate management of substance use disorders is the responsibility of all medical and health professionals. This invaluable guide discusses the broad range of management options and the evidence base behind modern addiction medicine.

The first chapter outlines important background information and summarises the principles of addiction medicine. It encompasses the epidemiology of psychoactive substance use, the pharmacology and neurobiology of the major substances, and the natural history of the main clinical disorders. Two chapters summarise the principles of assessment and diagnosis and management which inform the practice of addiction medicine. Background and management focused on specific types of psychoactive substances are then covered in detail. The remainder of the book is devoted to the management of substance use disorders experienced by specific groups and in specific circumstances and places, within the broad professional and legal context.

A series of appendices provides summaries of concepts and practical tools to aid management.