[40 years of toxicomania at the psychiatric hospital in Liège]

Drug abuse was observed during 40 years (1939-1979) in a psychiatric hospital for women (sanatorium Sainte-Agathe, Liège, Belgium). Seventy patients were labelled with that diagnosis, -i.e. 2,9% of 2386 admissions. The frequency of drug addiction grew with years and between 1975 and 1979, outnumbered 10% of all admissions. 3/4 of those patients were previously inmates of other psychiatric clinics and well known in medical urgency services. Morphinomaniacs were the only patients between 1939 and 1949 (11 women). As a rule, they survived and did not come back. No haschich, L.S.D. or heroin addicts were seen: their psychiatric confinement was never required. Beginning in december 1959, barbituromaniacs (58 patients) invaded the wards. Other hypnotics were used as well (e.g. metaqualone). Forty-five per cent of the patients died and the survivors came back and back again, -en masse. The illness is very serious if it starts before 30 years: the risk of death goes to 75%. Barmaids and prostitutes were definitely doing hazardous jobs (5 deaths among 6 cases). Other psychiatric illnesses interfere with toxicomania, especially depression. Four patients committed suicide without hypnotics. To conclude: barbiturates are dangerous drugs and they ought not to be used for insomnia. Benzodiazepine abuse did not occur in the hospital and did not induce fatal issues. Combined with phenothiazines, benzodiazepines can solve nearly all sleep disturbances.