Course Summary
Cocaine addiction is a serious public health problem. Millions of Americans regularly use cocaine, and some develop a substance use disorder. Cocaine is generally not ingested, but toxicity and death from gastrointestinal absorption has been known to occur. Medications that have been used as substitution therapy for the treatment of a cocaine use disorder include amphetamine, bupropion, methylphenidate, and modafinil. While pharmacological interventions can be effective, a recent review of pharmacological therapy for cocaine use indicates that psycho-social efforts are more consistent over medication as a treatment option.
Course Format
Homestudy
Course Syllabus
- I. Introduction
- II. Pharmacology of Cocaine
- 1. Neurotransmitter Blockade and Release
- 2. Ion Channel Blockade
- 3. Excitatory Neurotransmitter Release
- III. Acute Cocaine Intoxication
- 1. Cardiovascular
- 2. Central Nervous System
- 3. Pulmonary
- 4. Other Organ System Toxicity
- IV. Cocaine Use Disorder Diagnosis
- 1. Incidence of Cocaine Use
- 2. Screening for Cocaine Use
- 3. DSM-5 Criteria
- V. Treatment of Cocaine Use Disorder
- 1. Pharmacotherapy
- 2. Amphetamine
- 3. Methylphenidate
- 4. Bupropion
- VI. Case Study: Charlie’s Story
- VII. Summary
Author
Dana Bartlett, RN, BSN, MSN, MA, CSPI
Dana Bartlett is a professional nurse and author. His clinical experience includes 16 years of ICU and ER experience and over 27 years as a poison control center information specialist. Dana has published numerous CE and journal articles, written NCLEX material, textbook chapters, and more than 100 online CE articles, and done editing and reviewing for publishers such as Elsevier, Lippincott, and Thieme. He has written widely on the subject of toxicology and was a contributing editor, toxicology section, for Critical Care Nurse journal. He is currently employed at the Connecticut Poison Control Center. He lives in Wappingers Falls, NY.
