Alcoholic psychosis at Mental Hospital, Antioquia, Colombia, 1900-1930

Abstract

Alcoholism was a real problem in Medellín (Colombia) during the first three decades of the XX century. It was focused as a habit that finally dominated people who assumed it. According to the medical knowledge at that time, alcoholism was a social disease with moral, physical, and mental connotations. Therapeutic options for alcoholic patients were limited, and the only mental institution in the city lacked adequate facilities. Consequently, the probability of cure was low, and the prognosis, poor. This article presents the results of a historic investigation about the early diagnosis of alcoholic psychosis in the department of Antioquia (Colombia) between 1900 and 1930. The different clinical approaches to alcoholism and the resources available for treatment are included. We aimed at evaluating the medical knowledge on alcoholism at the beginning or the XX century, and to describe the early steps of the main regional psychiatric center.