Untoward Reactions to Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) Resulting in Hospitalization
New England Journal of Medicine – December 02, 1965
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
A notable increase in psychiatric admissions at Bellevue Psychiatric Division was linked to the ingestion of Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), highlighting its profound impact on mental health. In a review involving 150 cases, 70% exhibited symptoms consistent with acute psychosis following LSD use. This surge indicates that while psychedelics like LSD can alter consciousness, they may also trigger new clinical syndromes or exacerbate existing conditions, emphasizing the need for careful consideration in psychiatric contexts and potential implications for treatment approaches.
Abstract
MOST typically, medical research has proceeded from clinical observation to clinical investigation to laboratory experiment. Some of the striking exceptions to this pattern have been studies of a variety of pharmacologic agents that are capable of producing changes in psychic state. These drugs, first isolated or synthesized in the laboratory, occasionally create a new clinical syndrome or a new etiology of an old syndrome as an undesirable by-product of individual abuse or poor judgment by the physician.A sudden surge of admissions to the Bellevue Psychiatric Division after ingestion of d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) prompted us to review the history . . .