The Tolerability and Safety of Psilocybin in Psychiatric and Substance-Dependence Conditions: A Systematic Review.

Abstract

<h4>Objective</h4>The objective of this systematic review is to determine the tolerability and safety of psilocybin in a variety of psychiatric and substance-dependence conditions.<h4>Data sources</h4>A systematic review was conducted using Embase, PubMed, Cochrane Central, and Web of Science through September 2023 using the following terminology: "psilocybin" AND "mental-disease" OR "substance-dependence" AND "disease-therapy," in addition to other synonymous key words.<h4>Study selection and data extraction</h4>Literature reporting acute effects and safety data following the use of psilocybin as the pharmacologic intervention in a clinical trial in adult patients with a psychiatric or substance-dependence condition were included. Following the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 16 studies were ultimately included in this review.<h4>Data synthesis</h4>The most common treatment-emergent adverse effects reported were transient nausea and headache. Transient anxiety was reported as a frequent psychiatric effect, and 3 participants received a benzodiazepine for refractory anxiety during the psilocybin session. Psilocybin demonstrated modest increases in blood pressure and heart rate, and 1 participant received an antihypertensive for sustained hypertension during the psilocybin session. No cases of psilocybin-induced psychosis or Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder were reported.<h4>Relevance to patient care and clinical practice</h4>Treatment resistance remains a concern for psychiatric patients and novel therapies are needed to help alleviate the burden of morbidity and mortality. Psilocybin demonstrates promising acute and long-term safety that may allow for its use in psychiatric or substance-dependence conditions as an alternative to standards of care or in treatment-resistant patients.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Psilocybin has demonstrated tolerability and safety in recent literature that has investigated its therapeutic potential in a variety of psychiatric or substance-dependence conditions.

Topics & conditions

Detected automatically by Psychedelic Commons from the title and abstract, not labels from the source. They may be incomplete.

Keywords