Clinical and Laboratory Investigations in 132 Cases of Solvent Abuse

Abstract

This article comprises a summary of the clinical and laboratory investigations carried out in 132 consecutive cases of solvent abuse referred between March 1975 and October 1976. Of the 115 patients, 106 were males and 9 were females. Most cases were referred by the police (75 per cent); the remainder were referred by social workers (II per cent), parents (3 per cent) or Assessment Centre staff (11 per cent). Adhesives were found to be the substances whose vapours were most frequently abused (88 per cent). The methods used for inhalation and the lengths of ‘sniffing’ history are presented.