The GET UP multi-element psychosocial intervention proved to be superior to treatment as usual in improving outcomes in patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP). However, to guide treatment ...decisions, information on which patients may benefit more from the intervention is warranted.
To identify patients' characteristics associated with (a) a better treatment response regardless of treatment type (non-specific predictors), and (b) a better response to the specific treatment provided (moderators).
Some demographic and clinical variables were selected
as potential predictors/moderators of outcomes at 9 months. Outcomes were analysed in mixed-effects random regression models. (Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01436331)
Analyses were performed on 444 patients. Education, duration of untreated psychosis, premorbid adjustment and insight predicted outcomes regardless of treatment. Only age at first contact with the services proved to be a moderator of treatment outcome (patients aged ⩾35 years had greater improvement in psychopathology), thus suggesting that the intervention is beneficial to a broad array of patients with FEP.
Except for patients aged over 35 years, no specific subgroups benefit more from the multi-element psychosocial intervention, suggesting that this intervention should be recommended to all those with FEP seeking treatment in mental health services.
ABSTRACT
Chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus (CKD-aP) is a potentially distressing condition that affects a significant proportion of patients with end-stage kidney disease undergoing ...dialysis. CKD-aP may lead to worsening of patients’ physical and mental health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and has also been linked with worse clinical outcomes, including increased mortality. Despite these detrimental effects, evidence from real-world studies shows that CKD-aP still remains overlooked by nephrologists and underreported by patients in clinical practice. Itch is subjective and therefore its diagnosis is often dependent on patients reporting this symptom. There is an opportunity to reduce the burden of CKD-aP on dialysis patients by increasing awareness about this condition and the availability of effective treatments. It is particularly important that nephrologists and other healthcare providers routinely ask their patients if they are experiencing itch. The differential diagnosis of CKD-aP requires a step-by-step identification and exclusion of possible alternative or concomitant causes of itch. Several simple validated self-reported assessment scales are available to evaluate the presence and severity of itch in a time-efficient manner, making them suitable for use in everyday clinical practice. The impact of CKD-aP on haemodialysis patients’ HRQoL should also be assessed on a regular basis. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the differential diagnosis of CKD-aP and the diagnostic tools that are available to identify itch and quantify its severity and impact on patient HRQoL. A suggested algorithm to guide the screening, diagnosis and assessment of CKD-aP among dialysis patients in real-world practice is provided.
Emotional facial expression is an important low-level mechanism contributing to the experience of empathy, thereby lying at the core of social interaction. Schizophrenia is associated with pervasive ...social cognitive impairments, including emotional processing of facial expressions. In this study we test a novel paradigm in order to investigate the evaluation of the emotional content of perceived emotions presented through dynamic expressive stimuli, facial mimicry evoked by the same stimuli, and their functional relation. Fifteen healthy controls and 15 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia were presented with stimuli portraying positive (laugh), negative (cry) and neutral (control) emotional stimuli in visual, auditory modalities in isolation, and congruently or incongruently associated. Participants where requested to recognize and quantitatively rate the emotional value of the perceived stimuli, while electromyographic activity of Corrugator and Zygomaticus muscles was recorded. All participants correctly judged the perceived emotional stimuli and prioritized the visual over the auditory modality in identifying the emotion when they were incongruently associated (Audio-Visual Incongruent condition). The neutral emotional stimuli did not evoke any muscle responses and were judged by all participants as emotionally neutral. Control group responded with rapid and congruent mimicry to emotional stimuli, and in Incongruent condition muscle responses were driven by what participants saw rather than by what they heard. Patient group showed a similar pattern only with respect to negative stimuli, whereas showed a lack of or a non-specific Zygomaticus response when positive stimuli were presented. Finally, we found that only patients with reduced facial mimicry (Internalizers) judged both positive and negative emotions as significantly more neutral than controls. The relevance of these findings for studying emotional deficits in schizophrenia is discussed.
Literature has documented the role of family in the outcome of chronic schizophrenia. In the light of this, family interventions (FIs) are becoming an integral component of treatment for psychosis. ...The First Episode of Psychosis (FEP) is the period when most of the changes in family atmosphere are observed; unfortunately, few studies on the relatives are available.
To explore burden of care and emotional distress at baseline and at 9-month follow-up and the levels of service satisfaction at follow-up in the two groups of relatives (experimental treatment EXP vs. treatment as usual TAU) recruited in the cluster-randomized controlled GET UP PIANO trial.
The experimental treatment was provided by routine public Community Mental Health Centers (Italian National Health Service) and consisted of Treatment as Usual plus evidence-based additional treatment (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for psychosis for patients, Family Intervention for psychosis, and Case Management). TAU consisted of personalized outpatient psychopharmacological treatment, combined with non-specific supportive clinical management and informal support/educational sessions for families. The outcomes on relatives were assessed by the Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire (IEQ-EU), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and the Verona Service Satisfaction Scale (VSSS-EU). Differences within and between groups were evaluated.
At baseline, 75 TAU and 185 EXP caregivers were assessed. In the experimental group 92% of relatives participated in at least 1 family session. At follow-up both groups experienced improvement in all IEQ and GHQ items, but caregivers belonging to the EXP arm experienced a significantly greater change in 10 IEQ items (mainly pertaining to the "Tension" dimension) and in GHQ items. Due to the low sample size, a significant effectiveness was only observed for 2 IEQ items and 1 GHQ-12 item. With respect to VSSS data at follow-up, caregivers in the EXP arm experienced significantly greater satisfaction in 8 items, almost all pertaining to the dimensions "Relatives' Involvement" and "Professionals' Skills and Behavior."
The Family intervention for psychosis delivered in the GET UP PIANO trial reduced family burden of illness and improved emotional distress and satisfaction with services. These results should encourage to promote FIs on caregivers of first-episode psychosis patients.
Aim
From January 2013, the Parma Department of Mental Health developed a specific protocol of care (the “Parma—Early Psychosis” Pr‐EP program) as a diffused service for early intervention in ...psychosis. The aims of the present research are (a) to describe the Pr‐EP macroscopic organization and (b) to analyse specific process indicators across the first 5 years from its establishment.
Methods
All participants were adolescent and adult help‐seekers, aged 12‐54 years, with a First Episode Psychosis (FEP) or at Ultra‐High Risk for developing psychosis, according to well‐defined diagnostic criteria.
Results
At baseline, 358 individuals were offered a dedicated protocol of care and only 40 (11.8%) dropped out during the first year of intervention. In particular, an increase of referrals over time was notably found (especially in adolescence). Furthermore, Duration of Untreated Psychosis decreased over time. The baseline prevalence of FEP diagnosis was 61.4%, with schizophrenia as markedly prevalent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders, IV edition, Text Revised (DSM‐IV‐TR) diagnosis (41%). The vast majority of UHR individuals met criteria for “Attenuated Psychotic Symptoms” (>90%), and major depressive disorder was the most frequent diagnosis (>55%). Finally, we found considerable percentages of current history of substance abuse (>58%) and of comorbidity with DSM‐IV‐TR personality disorders (60%).
Conclusions
An “Early Intervention in psychosis” service in Italian child/adolescent and adult mental health services is feasible, also in adolescents, who have a high risk of falling through the child‐adult service gap.
Aim
From January 2016, the Parma Department of Mental Health developed a specialized care protocol – the ‘Parma At‐Risk Mental States’ (PARMS) program – as a diffused service for early intervention ...in individuals at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis (CHR‐P). The aims of this investigation were (1) to describe the PARMS structural organization and (2) to examine specific process indicators during the first 5 years of its clinical activity.
Methods
All participants were adolescent and young adult help‐seekers (aged 12–25 years) at CHR‐P in accordance with well‐defined psychometric criteria.
Results
At entry, 52 subjects were provided with a dedicated protocol of care and only 14 dropped out during the first year of treatment. The Duration of Untreated Illness (DUI) overall decreased over time. Most of CHR‐P participants suffered from ‘Attenuated Psychotic Symptoms’ and ‘Brief, Limited, Intermittent Psychotic Symptoms’ in the same percentage (48.1% n = 25). The most common DSM‐IV‐TR diagnosis was schizotypal personality disorder, followed by borderline personality disorder and brief psychotic disorder.
Conclusions
A specialized, evidence‐based care protocol for CHR‐P individuals within Italian adult and child/adolescent psychiatric services is feasible, also in adolescents, who have a high risk of falling through the child/adult service gap.
Purpose
Service disengagement is a major concern for “Early Intervention in Psychosis” (EIP). Indeed, identifying predictors of engagement is crucial to maximize mental healthcare interventions in ...first-episode psychosis (FEP). No Italian study on this topic has been reported to date. Thus, the aims of this investigation were: (1) to examine short-term disengagement rate in an Italian population of FEP patients treated within an EIP service across a 1-year follow-up period, and (b) to assess the most relevant predictors of disengagement in the first year of treatment.
Methods
All participants were young FEP help-seeking patients, aged 12–35 years, enrolled within the “Parma Early Psychosis” (Pr-EP) protocol. At baseline, they completed the Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Health of the Nation Outcome Scale (HoNOS) and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used.
Results
496 FEP individuals were enrolled in this research. Across the follow-up, a 16.5% prevalence of short-term disengagement was found. Particularly robust predictors of service disengagement were poor baseline treatment non-adherence, living with parents and the presence of brief psychotic disorder or schizophreniform disorder at entry.
Conclusion
About 16% of FEP patients disengaged the Pr-EP program within the first year of treatment. A solution to reduce disengagement and/or to favor re-engagement of these subjects might be to remain on EIP program caseloads allowing the option for low-intensity support and monitoring, also via remote technology.
Disorganization is a core dimension of schizophrenia, yet it is relatively under-investigated compared to positive and negative ones, especially at the illness onset. Indeed, most of the empirical ...studies investigating the disorganized domain included patients with prolonged schizophrenia. Therefore, the aims of this research were (1) to monitor the longitudinal stability of disorganized symptoms in young patients with First Episode Schizophrenia (FES) along a 2-year follow-up period, and (2) to examine any significant association of disorganization with functioning, psychopathology and the specific treatment components of an “Early Intervention in Psychosis” (EIP) program across the 2 years of follow-up.
At baseline, 159 FES individuals (aged 12–35 years) completed the Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF). Spearman's correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression analysis were carried out.
During the follow-up period, disorganization had relevant enduring positive associations with PANSS negative symptoms, lack of judgment/insight and positive symptoms representing delusional thought contents, as well as significant enduring negative correlation with GAF scores. Along the 2 years of follow-up, FES patients also showed a relevant improvement in disorganization symptoms. This reduction was specifically associated with the number of individual psychotherapy sessions provided during the first year of treatment.
Disorganization is a prominent clinical feature in FES at the recruitment in specialized EIP services, but its temporal trajectory reveals a decrease over time, together with the delivery of specific, patient-tailored EIP interventions.
•Disorganization is clinically relevant already in First-Episode Schizophrenia.•Disorganization had enduring associations with negative symptoms and lack of insight.•Disorganization also had enduring correlation with functioning deterioration.•FES patients had a relevant improvement in disorganization along the 2 years of follow-up.•This overtime reduction in disorganization severity was related to individual psychotherapy.
Service disengagement is a major concern for “Early Intervention in Psychosis” (EIP). Indeed, understanding predictors of engagement is important for the effectiveness of mental health interventions, ...to improve outcome and quality of life, also in adolescents with first episode psychosis (FEP). No specific European investigation on this topic in adolescence has been reported in the literature to date. The aim of this study was to investigate service disengagement rate and predictors in an Italian sample of FEP adolescents treated within an EIP program during a 2-year follow-up period. All participants were adolescents help-seekers (aged 12–18 years) enrolled in the “Parma Early Psychosis” (Pr-EP) program. At baseline, they completed the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed. 71 FEP adolescents were recruited in this research. During the 2 years of our follow-up, a 25.4% prevalence rate of service disengagement was found. Particularly robust predictors of disengagement were lower baseline acceptance of psychosocial interventions, substance abuse at entry, and lower baseline PANSS “Disorganization” factor score. Approximately, 1/4 of our FEP adolescents disengaged from the Pr-EP program during the first 2 years of treatment. A possible solution to decrease disengagement and to favor re-engagement of these young individuals might be to provide the option of low-intensity monitoring and support, also via remote technology.
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