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Opioid-Induced Hallucinations: A Case Report
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Opioid-Induced Hallucinations: A Case Report

Arvind Dhanabalan, Sall Saveen, Christina Singh, Ramona Ramasamy and Keerthiga Raveendran
Curēus (Palo Alto, CA), Vol.16(12), p.e74915
12/01/2024
PMID: 39742165

Abstract

Geriatrics Psychiatry
This article presents the case of a 67-year-old African American male patient who was referred to a psychiatry clinic by his Internal Medicine Provider with a diagnosis of "schizophrenia, unspecified." The patient reported the onset of auditory and visual hallucinations (AVHs) two years ago, coinciding with his starting Norco (hydrocodone 5 mg/acetaminophen 325 mg) for chronic back pain. He noted that his AVH worsened when he increased his prescribed Norco dosage (within his prescribed recommended range) and observed that the hallucinations ceased when he discontinued the medication. This case highlights the potential for opioid-induced AVH to be misdiagnosed as schizophrenia while emphasizing the importance of careful evaluation of opioid use in psychiatric assessments.
url
https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.74915View
Published (Version of record) Open

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