Effectiveness of lorazepam-assisted interviews in an adolescent with dissociative amnesia A case report

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.02.012

Abstract

Abstract:

To facilitate gathering information during a psychiatric interview, some psychiatrists advocate augmenting the interview using drugs. Rather than barbiturates, benzodiazepines have been used for drug-assisted interviews. Dissociative amnesia is one of the indications for these interviews. Herein, we present the case of a 15-year-old female who was diagnosed as having dissociative amnesia because of conflicts with her friends. She was administered a lorazepam-assisted interview to aid recovery of her memories. In this case, a small dose of lorazepam was sufficient to recover her memories without any adverse effects.

Key words: neural regeneration, clinical practice, dissociative amnesia, dissociative disorder, dissociation, drug-assisted interview, amobarbital, lorazepam, benzodiazepine, adolescent, memory loss, emotional distress, distress, grant-supported paper, neuroregeneration

Yuna Seo, Mi-Hee Shin, Sung-Gon Kim, Ji-Hoon Kim. Effectiveness of lorazepam-assisted interviews in an adolescent with dissociative amnesia A case report[J]. Neural Regeneration Research, 2013, 8(2): 186-190.

References

[1] Allen JG, Smith WH. Diagnosing dissociative disorders. Bull Menninger Clin. 1993;57:328-343.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8401385

[2] Brand BL. What we know and what we need to learn about the treatment of dissociative disorders. J Trauma Dissociation. 2012;13:387-396.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22651673

[3] American Psychiatric Association. American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Fourth Edition Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association. 2000. http://allpsych.com/disorders/dsm.html

[4] Sadock B, Sadock V. Kaplan & Sadock’s Comprehensive textbook of Psychiatry. 8th ed. Philadelphia: Lipooincott Williams & Wilkins. 2005. http://www.ovid.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=13051&catalogId=13151&langId=-1&partNumber=Prod-761

[5]Ramachandran VS. Encyclopedia of Human Behavior. 2nd ed. London: Academic Press. 2012. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/referenceworks/9780080961804

[6] Fine CG. Cognitive behavioral hypnotherapy for dissociative disorders.Am J ClinHypn. 2012;54:331-352.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22655334

[7] Nichols LL, Zasler ND, Martelli M. Sodium amobarbital: historical perspectives and neurorehabilitation clinical caveats. NeuroRehabilitation. 2012;31:95-106.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22951703

[8] Ballew L, Morgan Y, Lippmann S. Intravenous diazepam for dissociative disorder: Memory lost and found. Psychosomatics. 2003;44:346-347.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12832603

[9] Herman M. The use of intravenous sodium amytal in psychogenic amnestic states. Psychiatr Q. 1938;12:738-742. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF01562835?LI=true

[10] Sagant W, Slater E. Acute war neuroses. Lancet. 1940;2:1-2. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673601026721

[11] Lambert C, Rees W. Intravenous barbiturates in the treatment of hysteria. Br Med J. 1944;2:70-73.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20785535

[12] Patrick M, Howells R. Barbiturate-assisted interviews in modern clinical practice. Psychol Med. 1990;20:763-765.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2284383

[13] Kavirajan H. The amobarbital interview revisited: A review of the literature since 1966. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 1999;7:153-165. [PubMed]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=The%20amobarbital%20interview%20revisited%3A%20A%20review%20of%20the%20literature%20since%201966

[14] Ilechukwu ST, Henry T. Amytal interview using intravenous lorazepam in a patient with dissociative fugue. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2006;28:544-545.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17088173

[15] Lee SS, Park S, Park SS. Use of Lorazepam in drug-assisted interviews: two cases of dissociative amnesia. Psychiatry Investig. 2011;8:377-380.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22216050

[16] Marcum JM. The use of midazolam with pulse oximetry in the drug-assisted interview.J Clin Psychiatry. 1996;57:111-113. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8617694

[17] Bleckwenn W. Narcosis as therapy in neruopsychiatric conditions. JAMA. 1930;95:1168-1176.http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=242499

[18] Lindmann E. Psychological changes in normal and abnormal individuals under the influence of sodium amytal. Am J Psychiatry. 1932;88:1083-1091. http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleID=140490

[19] Perry JC, Jacobs D. Overview: Clinical applications of the amytal interview in psychiatric emergency settings. Am J Psychiatry. 1982;139:552-559.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7072839

[20] Buckman J, Hain JD, Smith BM, et al. Controlled interviews using drugs. II. comparisons between restricted and freer conditions.Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1973;29:623-627.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4149325

[21] Stevenson I, Buckman J, Smith BM, et al. The use of drugs in psychiatric interviews: Some interpretations based on controlled experiments. Am J Psychiatry. 1974;131:707-710.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4151258

[22] Narayana NM, John JP, Math SB, et al. Adolescent onset obsessive compulsive disorder presented as dissociative disorders: role of drug assisted interview. Turk Psikiyatri Derg. 2010;21:257-260. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20818514