The aim of this analysis was to investigate the socio-demographic and clinical profile, the effectiveness, and the association of pharmacological treatment in patients who underwent electroconvulsive ...therapy during the last 10 years in the largest psychiatric hospital in Romania. This study includes 249 patients aged between 18 and 73 years old. Recurrent depression was the most frequent diagnosis for which ECT was performed (T = 96, 38.55%), followed by schizophrenia (T = 72, 28.91%). The most frequent indication for ECT was treatment resistance (T = 154, 61.84%), followed by persistent suicidal ideation (T = 54, 21.68%) and catatonia (T = 42, 16.86%). In 111 (44.60%) cases included in this study, re-hospitalization was required after performing ECT, while 138 (55.40%) participants did not require any further hospital readmissions. Significant differences were found between these groups in terms of socio-demographic data, diagnosis, number of ECT sessions performed, and association of psychotropic medication during and after the procedure, therefore two separate patient profiles were found based on these characteristics. Patients necessitating re-hospitalization post-ECT were mainly males aged 25-44 diagnosed with schizophrenia and underwent a greater number of ECT sessions (7-12), whereas those not requiring re-hospitalization were predominantly females aged 45-64 with recurrent depressive disorder for which 4-6 ECT sessions were performed.
Objective
The retina is a protrusion of the brain, so researchers have recently proposed retinal changes as a new marker for studying central nervous system diseases. To investigate optic nerve head ...neurovascular structure assessed by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in schizophrenia compared to healthy subjects.
Methods
The study was conducted from 2019 to 2021 at the Ibn Sina Psychiatric Hospital in Mashhad, Iran. We enrolled 22 hospitalized known cases of schizophrenia, treated with risperidone as an antipsychotic drug, and 22 healthy subjects. The two groups were matched in age and gender. In the schizophrenic group, the positive and negative syndrome scale test was used to assess the illness severity. All subjects underwent complete ophthalmic evaluations and OCTA imaging.
Results
We found that the cup/disc area ratio, vertical cup/disc ratio, and horizontal cup/disc ratio are significantly higher in patients with schizophrenia than in healthy subjects (with p‐values of 0.019, 0.015, and 0.022, respectively). No statistically significant difference in the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer and vascular parameters of the optic nerve head was observed between schizophrenia and healthy groups.
Conclusion
We found evidence regarding the difference in the optic nerve head tomographic properties in schizophrenia compared to healthy subjects. However, ONH vascular parameters showed no significant difference. More studies are needed for a definite conclusion.
Depression is a prevalent mental health condition treated with antidepressants and other psychotropic medications. This study aimed to assess the utilization pattern of antidepressants among patients ...visiting the outpatient clinic of the psychiatry department of a tertiary care hospital. The study included the patients who visited the study site and fulfilled the mental and behavioral diagnostic criteria for depression. The demographic and clinical details, including drugs prescribed, were documented in a study-specific data collection form. The ratio of Prescribed Daily Dose to Defined Daily Dose (PDD: DDD) was calculated to assess the adequacy of antidepressant utilization. Data total of 154 patients were collected. A total of 22 psychotropic drugs were used among the study patients as mono (n = 70), dual (n = 69), triple (n = 10), or quadruple therapy (n = 1). Escitalopram was the most often prescribed antidepressant out of the nine antidepressants alone and in combination and was used in slightly high doses (PDD: DDD ratio 1.6). Sertraline, paroxetine, and desvenlafaxine, were used in adequate doses (PDD: DDD between 1 and 1.1), and fluoxetine, duloxetine, amitriptyline, imipramine, and mirtazapine, were used in inadequate doses (PDD: DDD <0.5). Our study findings reveal the need for continuous assessment of antidepressants medications usage in a hospital set up.
Background: Burnout syndrome (BOS) is a serious issue among nurses due to chronic exposure to work-related stress. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and associated ...risk factors of BOS among psychiatric nurses in a hospital in Saudi Arabia. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 395 nurses were included through simple random sampling at a psychiatric hospital. The Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to measure the burnout. Multinomial logistic regression was used to determine the factors associated with BOS among nurses. Results: The mean age of the participants was 35.43 ± 7.04 years. Most study participants were married (69.1%) Saudi (74.7%) males (68.4%), and the average time of service in the hospital was 13 years. Most of the participants (82.3%) had burnout, ranging from mild to very severe. After adjustment for covariates, we found that severe BOS was reported among Saudi nurses (odds ratio OR 3.28 and confidence interval CI 1.28-8.37) and among ex-smokers (OR 4.9, CI 1.39-17.5). Single participants reported moderate BOS (OR 2.37 and CI 1.19-4.72). These values were statistically significant. Conclusions: BOS is prevalent among psychiatric nurses. The most common factors associated with BOS were Saudi nationality, single status, and being an ex-smoker. There is a need for counseling services for nurses to address this issue.
Purpose: Nightmare is common and is also independently implicated in suicide risk among the adolescent population. Adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) are at an increased risk of ...suicide. Therefore, comorbid nightmares may amplify suicide risk among this clinical population. This study aimed to explore the effects of nightmares on suicide risk among adolescents with MDD. Patients and Methods: Subjects were 499 outpatients aged 12-18 in four large psychiatric hospitals clinic of China, from January 1 to October 31, 2021. Simultaneously, we matched 499 healthy controls according to gender and age. All participants underwent affective state (depressive and anxiety symptoms) and sleep variable (nightmare frequency/distress, insomnia symptoms, and daytime sleepiness) evaluation as well as MDD diagnoses and determination of suicide risk by a fully structured diagnostic clinical interview. Results: Adolescents with MDD reported a higher incidence of frequent nightmares (at least one night per week) and level of nightmare distress than healthy controls (22.0% vs 6.1%; 28.85 + or - 11.92 vs 17.30 + or - 5.61). Over half of the patients with suicide risk (51.6%) experienced frequent nightmares compared with approximately one-third of those at a risk for suicide (30.7%). Patients with suicide risk scored scientifically higher on sleep variables, depressive and anxiety symptoms than those without the risk. Further logistic regression analysis indicated that female gender, junior grade, recurrent depressive episode, severe nightmare distress and severe depressive symptoms were independently and significantly associated with suicide risk. Conclusion: Our study provided evidence that adolescents with MDD experienced a higher prevalence of frequent nightmares and suffered more nightmare distress. Nightmare distress is an independent risk factor for suicide risk. Keywords: major depressive disorder, sleep problems, nightmare, suicide risk, adolescent
While previous studies have examined antecedents and outcomes of work engagement among general nurses, studies among psychiatric nurses remain limited. This study aimed to explore the antecedents ...(i.e., job crafting and nursing practice environment) and outcomes (i.e., strength-oriented care attitudes, mental health, and turnover intention) of work engagement among psychiatric nurses in Japan. This cross-sectional study included 309 nurses from three psychiatric hospitals in Japan (valid response rate: 60.4%). Data collection using the self-administered questionnaire took place from July to August 2021. We performed Structural Equation Modeling to examine the directional relationships among variables. Job crafting (β = 0.57,
< 0.01) and nursing practice environment (β = 0.23,
= 0.01) exhibited positive effects on work engagement. Work engagement had positive effects on strength-oriented care attitudes (β = 0.15,
= 0.04) and mental health (β = 0.37,
< 0.01) as well as negative effects on intention to resign from their profession as a nurse (β = -0.17,
= 0.01). Job crafting and a healthier nursing practice environment could help enhance work engagement. Higher work engagement could contribute to improving strength-oriented care attitudes, mental health, and intention to resign from their profession as a nurse.
Background
Copy number variations (CNVs) have been implicated in psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. Especially, 15q13.3 deletions are strongly associated with autism spectrum disorder ...(ASD), intellectual disability (ID), schizophrenia (SCZ), attention deficithyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and mood disorder.
Case Presentation
We present two siblings with ASD. They had a father with bipolar disorder (BD). Patient 1 is a 21‐year‐old female with ASD and mild ID, who had language delay and repetitive behavior in childhood, social difficulties, and refused to go to school because of bullying. She was hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital several times. Patient 2 is a 19‐year‐old male with ASD and ADHD. He did not have developmental delay, but had social difficulties and impulsiveness, then refused to go to school because of bullying. He was treated by a psychiatrist for anxiety and disrupted sleep rhythms. Array comparative genomic hybridization was performed for the siblings and parents. 15q13.3 deletions were detected in the siblings and their healthy mothers. No other pathogenic CNVs were detected. We performed whole‐genome sequencing of the family and identified 13 rare missense variants in brain‐expressed genes, which may be responsible for the phenotypic differences between the siblings and their mother.
Conclusions
This study shows incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity in 15q13.3 deletions. We detected second‐hit variants that may explain the phenotypic differences within this family. In addition, detecting 15q13.3 deletions may lead to early diagnosis and a better prognosis with careful follow‐up.
We present two siblings with autism spectrum disorder and 15q13.3 deletions. The 15q13.3 deletions were inherited from their healthy mother. This study shows incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity in 15q13.3 deletions.
Focusing on the history of the Ingutsheni Lunatic Asylum (renamed a mental hospital after 1933), situated near Bulawayo in the former Southern Rhodesia, Surfacing Up explores the social, cultural, ...and political history of the colony that became Zimbabwe after gaining its independence in 1980. The phrase surfacing up was drawn from a conversation Lynette A. Jackson had with a psychiatric nurse who used the concept to explain what brought African potential patients into the psychiatric system. Jackson uses Ingutsheni as a reference point for the struggle to domesticate Africa and its citizens after conquest. Drawing on the work of Frantz Fanon, Jackson maintains that the asylum in Southern Rhodesia played a significant role in maintaining the colonial social order. She supports Fanon's claim that colonial psychiatric hospitals were repositories for those of indocile nature or for those who failed to fit the social background of the colonial type. Through reconstruction and reinterpretation of patient narratives, Jackson shows how patients were diagnosed, detained, and deemed recovered. She draws on psychiatric case files to analyze the changing economic, social, and environmental conditions of the colonized, the varying needs of the white settlers, and the shifting boundaries between these two communities. She seeks to extend and enrich our understanding of how a significant institution changed the way citizens and subjects experienced the colonial social order.
Background
The COVID‐19 pandemic has directly affected the delivery of health care services in Canada, including foot care. The goal of this descriptive study was to understand the impact of the ...early COVID‐19 pandemic (March 2020 to April 2021) on chiropodists' and podiatrists' clinical practices and foot care service delivery in Ontario, Canada.
Methods
A web‐survey was completed by participating chiropodists and podiatrists registered with the College of Chiropodists of Ontario. The survey consisted of 31 multiple choice and open‐ended items on clinical practice characteristics, foot care service delivery changes, perceived barriers during the pandemic, and its impact on clinicians. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample and examine clinicians' responses, and qualitative content analysis was used to explore opened‐ended items.
Results
Of the 773 eligible clinicians, 279 participated for a response rate of 36.1%. Most respondents reported a decline in patient volume, an increase in urgent foot health problems, a financial impact on their clinical practices, an emotional impact, and substantial changes to how they provided foot care services, such as incorporating telehealth/virtual care into patient care. Factors that impact clinicians' perception of future pandemic preparedness are identified.
Conclusion
This study describes foot care service delivery in Ontario, Canada during the COVID‐19 pandemic. The COVID‐19 pandemic saw an increase in urgent foot health problems, decline in patient volume, and impacted clinicians' mental health and emotional well‐being. Future studies should examine patients' experiences of foot care service delivery and maintaining their foot health during the pandemic, and further examination of factors that impact clinicians' perception of pandemic preparedness.
The aim of the present study is to identify the main sociodemographic and clinical correlates associated with frequent service users (FSUs) in an Italian psychiatric emergency department.
This study ...is an observational and prospective clinical investigation. All subjects (N = 549) consecutively admitted to the Psychiatric Inpatient Unit of the IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino ((Genoa, Italy) were recruited over a period of 18 months.
On average, FSUs were more likely to be single (75.0% vs. 64.0,
= 0.001), younger (38.79 years ± 14.68 vs. 45.94 years ± 16.94,
= 0.028), with an earlier onset (20.15 years ± 7.22 vs. 29.33 years ± 15.96,
< 0.001), and longer length of hospitalisation (13.65 days ± 12.40 vs. 9.89 ± 10.15,
= 0.006) compared to non-FSUs. While bipolar disorder was the most common primary diagnosis in both FSUs and non-FSUs, cluster B personality disorder was particularly elevated in FSUs (30.3% vs. 10.4%,
< 0.001). Furthermore, FSUs were more prone to substance use disorder (63.6% vs. 40.0%,
< 0.001), particularly cannabis (45.5% vs. 15.3%,
< 0.001), cocaine (33.3% vs. 10.4%,
< 0.001), and heroin (19.7% vs. 5.8%,
< 0.001), and were more likely to have non-suicidal self-injuries (21.2% vs. 6.8%,
< 0.001). FSUs were significantly more likely to be discharged against medical advice (18.2% vs. 5.6%,
< 0.001) or to have at least one escape attempt from the psychiatric ward (12.1% vs. 0.8%,
< 0.001).
Specific clinical and social profiles of patients who repeatedly utilised the services of a psychiatric emergency department have been identified. Our findings can be used to develop suitable structures to support and reintegrate FSUs into society and work life.
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