Revista Colombiana de psiquiatria
January 1, 2021
Raul Felipe Palma-álvarez, Lara Grau-López, Elena Ros-Cucurull et al.
12 citations
Ayahuasca, a psychotropic infusion made from Amazonian plants, can induce psychotic episodes as a side effect. A patient who experienced such an episode after consuming ayahuasca was successfully treated with antipsychotic medication. The case underscores the need for better understanding and regulation of ayahuasca's social-legal status, further research, and psycho-education to raise awareness of its potential risks.
Revista Colombiana de psiquiatria
January 1, 2022
Harvey Ricardo Cerón Tapia, Mayra Alejandra González Guzmán, Sergio Andrés Córdoba Ortiz
10 citations
A 26-year-old man developed a psychotic episode after consuming ayahuasca for the first time during a ritual ceremony. Symptoms included behavioral changes and delusions that worsened over seven months before he required psychiatric hospitalization. He responded well to antipsychotic medication and was discharged with outpatient follow-up. Although psychosis induced by ayahuasca is rare, increasing access to the substance makes such cases more important to recognize.
Revista Colombiana de psiquiatria
January 1, 2025
Edgar A Estrella-Parra, José G Avila-Acevedo, Ana M García-bores et al.
Ayahuasca, a psychotropic beverage from South America containing β-carbolines and DMT, can cause poisoning, especially when combined with other drugs. A 24-year-old male habitual user arrived at an emergency room with cognitive decline, delirium, stupor, and disorientation. Blood analysis identified DMT, harmaline, harmine, harmol, bufotenine, and tetrahydro harmine, along with other narcotics including a cannabis metabolite, amphetamine, and norcocaine. The poisoning was associated with ayahuasca consumption and its interaction with other drugs.
Revista Colombiana de psiquiatria
January 1, 2024
María Del Mar Arango-Posada, Ana Isabel Prada-Escobar, Carolina Marín-Hernández et al.
A 55-year-old man who had received a heart transplant for heart failure of ischemic origin developed depressed mood, anhedonia, and suicidal ideation six months after the transplant, scoring 20/27 on the PHQ-9 depression screening scale. After a week of mirtazapine 30 mg/night left him at high suicide risk, a 24-hour ketamine infusion produced significant mood improvement and disappearance of suicidal ideation within 24 hours. Depression in transplant patients is associated with graft loss, post-transplant mortality, and other negative outcomes such as deep vein thrombosis. Ketamine infusion was an effective and safe option for treating major depression with suicidal risk in this heart transplant patient.