Recorded atypical hallucinations in psychotic and affective disorders and associations with non-benzodiazepine hypnotic use: the South London and Maudsley Case Register.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Hallucinations are present in many conditions, notably psychosis. Although under-researched, atypical hallucinations, such as tactile, olfactory and gustatory (TOGHs), may arise secondary to hypnotic drug use, particularly non-benzodiazepine hypnotics ('Z drugs'). This retrospective case-control study investigated the frequency of TOGHs and their associations with prior Z drug use in a large mental healthcare database.

Methods

TOGHs were ascertained in 2014 using a bespoke natural language processing algorithm and were analysed against covariates (including use of Z drugs, demographic factors, diagnosis, disorder severity and other psychotropic medications) ascertained prior to 2014.

Results

In 43 339 patients with International Classification of Diseases,

SUBMITTER: Birnie KI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6169776 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature