Elspeth Cameron Ritchie

U.S. Military Enlisted Accession Mental Health Screening: History and Current Practice

Through the stimulus of war and concerns about neuropsychiatric disability, the U.S. military developed methods to rapidly screen the mental health of World War I and II draftees. Intelligence testing and brief psychiatric screening expanded the accession physical examination and underwent revision to identify only gross mental health disability. Supplemental psychiatric evaluations and written psychological screening tools were abandoned after postwar assessments; they demonstrated poor predictive power in evaluating recruit service capacity for combat environments. Currently, only three mental health accession tools are used to screen applicants before their entrance into military service, namely, educational achievement, cognitive testing, and a cursory psychiatric evaluation. The Navy and Air Force use a fourth screening measure during entry-level training. Educational attainment with high school graduation has been the strongest predictor of finishing a service term. The purpose of this article is to provide both a historical review and a review of testing efforts.

Zipeprol (Zinolta) abuse among American adolescents in Korea: a discussion of the problem, clinical presentation, and treatment.

Zipeprol dihydrochloride (Zinolta) is a Korean medication that is abused by American dependent teenagers in Korea. The adolescents usually present for medical care after a seizure. Since this medication is not available in the United States, many physicians are unfamiliar with zipeprol-induced seizures. The extent of the problem, the pharmacology and mechanism of action of zipeprol, the clinical presentation, and suggestions for treatment are discussed. Military physicians should consider zipeprol overdose when a teenager presents with a seizure.