ABSTRACT
A drug overdose patient might present primarily to a psychiatrist. A patient might have used one or more psychotropic drugs for intentional overdose, or a psychiatrist might be called to assess and manage patients who have taken an overdose of drugs in a bid to commit suicide. This chapter deals with the assessment and management of each of these circumstances. Discussion on the psychiatric manifestations caused by an overdose of antitubercular drugs acquires particular significance in the context of developing countries. Overdose of another antitubercular drug, rifampicin, is also known to cause toxic psychosis. The most common psychiatric symptoms of drug overdose are agitation and psychosis. An overdose of benzodiazepines affects consciousness and causes disturbances ranging from somnolence to coma. Overdoses of typical as well as atypical antipsychotics are seldom fatal unless other drugs are involved. One common effect of an overdose of antipsychotics is depression of the central nervous system.
