Early and late improvement in a two-year out-patient alcoholic treatment programme

The process of improvement was studied in a 2-year out-patient programme for alcoholics. The drop-out rate was 16%. The analysis was based on recurrent evaluations of treatment contracts including both drinking pattern and psycho-social treatment objectives. Background data were related to the alcohol adjustment during the first but not during the second year of treatment. Subjects with favourable background characteristics showed an early improvement of drinking pattern but few psycho-social changes. In contrast, subjects whose improvement in drinking behaviour occurred during the second year of treatment showed improvement in their psycho-social adjustment already during the first year. All subjects with an early stable improvement were type 1 alcoholics according to the Cloninger-Bohman typology while the majority of those who improved during the later part of the treatment period were type 2 alcoholics.     

THE MORE IT IS NEEDED,THE LESS IT IS WANTED: ATTITUDES TOWARD FACE‐TO‐FACE INTERVENTION AMONG DEPRESSED PATIENTS UNDERGOING ONLINE TREATMENT

Many individuals suffering from depression do not actively seek treatment. Self‐help strategies represent low‐threshold treatment options that are particularly relevant for milder cases. The present study addressed two important issues: (1) we examined depressed individuals’ motives and attitudes that may represent barriers to face‐to‐face treatment; (2) we examined if the participation in an online treatment program facilitates or compromises their willingness to undergo face‐to‐face treatment. We recruited 210 participants with depression for a trial on the efficacy of an online treatment program for depression. Participants were randomly allocated either to a self‐help treatment (Deprexis) or to a wait‐list control group. All participants filled out a newly developed 42‐item questionnaire called Psychotherapy Expectations, Concerns, and Hopes Inventory (PECHI). The scale measures attitudes toward face‐to‐face treatment and was administered at baseline and 8 weeks later. Principal component analysis of the PECHI revealed five dimensions: hope for symptomatic improvement, fear of poor alliance with the therapist, skill acquisition, skepticism and resentment of psychotherapy, and self‐stigma. Attitudes toward treatment were stable over time and neither modulated by group status nor by self‐reported or objective symptom decline. Correlation analyses revealed that current levels of depression and well‐being were potent predictors of attitudes toward treatment, suggesting that when the patient feels more depressed, doubts about the effectiveness of therapy emerge more strongly. To conclude, results suggest that Deprexis neither promotes nor reduces negative attitudes toward psychotherapy, nor does it increase barriers to enter face‐to‐face treatments. An alarming paradox emerged: when a depressed person is in greatest need of help, motivation to seek face‐to‐face treatment is lowest. Depression and Anxiety 00:1‐11, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Residential versus day treatment for children: A long-term follow-up study

Adults and adolescents, who as children, received day or residential treatment were followed up ten years after treatment completion. No differences were found between the two treatment modalities on follow-up ratings of personal and social adjustment. This pattern was not influenced by gender, IQ, or presenting problem. Overall, about two-thirds of the children demonstrated improvement at follow-up. As expected, individuals demonstrating higher levels of personal and social adjustment at initial assessment were functioning better at outcome. However, the magnitude of therapeutic gain was not significantly different for mild versus moderate-to-severe presenting problems. Suggestions for future research are included.     

Opioid maintenance treatment: trajectories in and out of treatment

Problem: Although efficacy studies of opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) have shown evidence of treatment benefits, there is still need for studies on its effectiveness in natural clinical processes. This study investigates the development in health, substance use and social conditions of those who applied for OMT, including those denied access or discharged.

Method: First, persons assessed for admittance in 2005–2011 (n?=?127) were categorized into four trajectory groups based on whether they were admitted or denied (n?=?19), discharged (n?=?31), readmitted (n?=?21) or had been undergoing OMT without interruption (n?=?56). Second, 99 of these, the analytical sample, were interviewed at follow-up using (a) the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) for seven problem-areas and housing, and (b) self-rated change in 11 problem areas. The ASI was compared to baseline interviews after 55 months (mean). Third, outcomes within groups was studied in relation to alternative interventions.

Results: Within the analytical sample, those denied OMT showed no improvements at group level, those discharged had some improvements, more if readmitted than if not and those with uninterrupted OMT showed the most comprehensive improvements. Those outside OMT, denied and discharged, had considerable mortality risks related to ongoing drug use, especially in lack of well-planned alternative interventions.

Conclusion: Improvements strongly relate to access to OMT. This study underscores that access to OMT improves the situation in all areas investigated and decreases the risk for drug-related death. It underscores the importance of two major risk situations, i.e. being denied OMT and being discharged.     

Personality disorders: patient characteristics and level of outpatient treatment service

Background: In this naturalistic study, patients with personality disorders (N?=?388) treated at Stolpegaard Psychotherapy Center, Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark were allocated to two different kinds of treatment: a standardized treatment package with a preset number of treatment hours (basic hospital service) and 2: a specialized treatment program for the most severely affected patients without a predetermined restricted number of treatment hours and significantly more individual psychotherapy (regional specialized hospital services).

Aims: To investigate patient characteristics associated with clinicians’ allocation of patients to the two different personality disorder services.

Methods: Patient characteristics across eight domains were collected in order to study whether there were systematic differences between patients allocated to the two different treatments. Patient characteristics included measures of symptom severity, personality pathology, trauma and socio-demographic characteristics. Significance testing and binary regression analysis were applied to identify important predictors.

Results: Patient characteristics on fifteen variables differed significantly, all in the expected direction, with patients in regional specialized hospital services showing more pathology and psychosocial problems. In the regression model, only age and two variables capturing psychosocial functioning remained significant predictors of allocation.

Discussion: The finding that younger age was the most significant predictor of longer treatment replicates an earlier finding of allocation to treatment for personality disorder. Overall, this study therefore lends further support to the importance of demographic and social contextual factors in clinicians’ allocation of patients to different treatment services for personality disorder.     

不同频度服用氟西汀持续治疗抑郁症的对照研究

目的比较不同频度服用氟西汀持续治疗抑郁症的效果。方法将45例治愈后的抑郁症患者随机平分为每日1次、每周2次及每周1次服用氟西汀三个组，并持续治疗24周。分析服药依从性、复发情况以及采用汉密顿抑郁量表(HAMD)及不良反应量表(TESS)分别评定疗效及不良反应。结果每日1次组4例停药；每周2次组1例停药、2例复发；每周1次组4例复发。三组间治疗依从性有显著性差异，复发情况无显著性差异。每周1次组人组后HAMD的各次评分均显著高于人组时，第24周评分与另两组问差异均有显著性。结论国产氟西汀用于抑郁症的长期治疗，每周2次给药最合适。     

Effects of impairment-based individual and socially oriented group therapies on verb production in aphasia

Purpose: Two philosophies of intervention exist in aphasia rehabilitation: impairment-based approaches and socially oriented approaches. Both approaches have been shown to improve communication in persons with aphasia, but no studies have directly compared the effects of each approach or a combined approach on a targeted linguistic skill. This article explores the effects of individual and group therapies used both in isolation and in combination on verb production in aphasia.

Methods: Twelve individuals with chronic aphasia were trained on transitive verbs under three conditions—individual, group and combined—over a 6-week interval. Treatment was counterbalanced across subject and training groups. A delayed-treatment, within-participant design was used. Verb probe data were collected at 10 points throughout the study. Language measures were taken at two intervals pre- and two intervals post-treatment. Functional, narrative and quality-of-life measures were taken once pre- and once post-treatment.

Results: Significant change was observed on linguistic, functional communication and quality-of-life measures. There was no significant effect of treatment condition.

Conclusions: The results provide evidence of linguistic and psychosocial change in individuals with chronic aphasia following this treatment. Results failed to find that one treatment condition was superior to others.     

Do community treatment orders for mental illness reduce readmission to hospital?

Background It has been suggested that community treatment orders (CTOs) will prevent readmission to hospital, but controlled studies have been inconclusive. We aimed to test the hypothesis that hospital discharges made subject to CTOs are associated with a reduced risk of readmission. The use of such a measure is likely to change after its introduction as clinicians acquire familiarity with it, and we also tested the hypothesis that the characteristics of patients subject to CTOs changed over time in the first decade of their use in Victoria, Australia. Method A database from Victoria, Australia (total population 4.8 million) was used. Cox proportional hazard models compared the hazard ratios of readmission to hospital before the end of the study period (1992–2000) for 16,216 discharges subject to a CTO and 112,211 not subject to a CTO. Results Community treatment orders used on discharge from a first admission to hospital were associated with a higher risk of readmission, but CTOs following subsequent admissions were associated with lower readmission risk. The risk also declined over the study period. Conclusions The effect of using a CTO depends on the patient’s history. At a population level their introduction may not reduce readmission to hospital. Their impact may change over time. Declaration of interest None.     

Diagnostic delays and mis-management in cluster headache

OBJECTIVES: Cluster headache is a stereotyped form of primary headache that while common in terms of neurologic illnesses is much less common as a cause of disabling headache than migraine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We directly interviewed 230 patients with cluster headache. National support groups contributed 76% and 24% came from the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery Headache Clinic. RESULTS: Seventy-two percent were men and 28% women, giving a male to female (M:F) ratio of 2.5:1. Episodic cluster headache (ECH) was recorded in 79% while 21% had chronic cluster headache (CCH). The mean time to diagnosis has dropped from 22 years in the 1960s to 2.6 years in the 1990s, although the mean number of GPs seen before a diagnosis was made remains at three. CONCLUSIONS: While there has been improvement in the time to diagnosis for cluster headache, a number of physicians will be consulted, and better education is likely to reduce the overall patient suffering.     

Predictors of Workforce Turnover in a Transported Treatment Program

This study examined relations between workforce turnover and select clinician (demographic and professional characteristics and perceptions of treatment model features and job requirements) organizational (perceptions of organizational climate and structure) and program level (salary, case mix) variables in a sample of 453 clinicians across 45 organizations participating in a transportability study of an empirically supported adolescent treatment (i.e., MST). At 20% annually, turnover was lower than in the national mental health workforce (i.e., 50–60%). Clinician demographic, professional background, and perceptions of the treatment model and demands did not predict turnover. Perceptions of an emotionally demanding organizational climate, program salary level, and program case mix of youth did predict turnover.     

Long-term Continuity of Antipsychotic Treatment for Schizophrenia: A Nationwide Study

Schizophrenia often requires long-term treatment with antipsychotic medication. This study aims to measure the continuity of antipsychotic treatment over the course of illness in schizophrenia, as well as factors involved in the interruption of treatment. For this, we followed up a national cohort of first-episode psychosis patients in Finland for up to 18 years. Stratified Cox proportional hazards regressions were conducted for “within-participant” risk of discontinuation of subsequent treatments compared to the first, and by specific antipsychotic compared to oral olanzapine, the most prescribed antipsychotic in this cohort. Adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated. Among 3343 participants followed up for a mean of 8 years (SD = 4.93), the median number of continuous treatment episodes was 6 (interquartile range [IQR] = 3–11) with a median duration of 11.4 months (IQR = 5.3–25.6). In the first year after diagnosis, the incidence rate of treatment discontinuation was 30.12 (95% CI = 29.89–30.35) events per 100 participant-years, decreasing to 8.90 (95% CI = 8.75–9.05) in the 10th year. The risk of discontinuation progressively decreased over successive treatment episodes (aHR = 0.30; 95% CI = 0.20–0.46 for episodes after the 15th compared to the first). Individuals were 67% less likely to interrupt treatment with long-acting injectable than oral antipsychotics (aHR = 0.33; 95% CI = 0.27–0.41). Treatment for schizophrenia over the long term is often characterized by recurrent cycles of interruptions and reintroductions of antipsychotic medication, which is typically not recommended by management guidelines. Greater utilization of long-acting injectable formulations earlier in the course of illness may facilitate the continuity of antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenia.     

Pharmacological management of panic disorder

Panic disorder (PD) is a disabling condition which appears in late adolescence or early adulthood and affects more frequently women than men. PD is frequently characterized by recurrences and sometimes by a chronic course and, therefore, most patients require long-term treatments to achieve remission, to prevent relapse and to reduce the risks associated with comorbidity. Pharmacotherapy is one of the most effective treatments of PD. In this paper, the pharmacological management of PD is reviewed. Many questions about this effective treatment need to be answered by the clinician and discussed with the patients to improve her/his collaboration to the treatment plan: which is the drug of choice; when does the drug become active; which is the effective dose; how to manage the side effects; how to manage nonresponse; and how long does the treatment last. Moreover, the clinical use of medication in women during pregnancy and breastfeeding or in children and adolescents was reviewed and its risk-benefit balance discussed.     

Setting a Research Agenda to Inform Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Programs

Abstract

Research into intensive comprehensive aphasia programs (ICAPs) has yet to show that this service delivery model is efficacious, effective, has cost utility, or can be broadly implemented. This article describes a phased research approach to the study of ICAPs and sets out a research agenda that considers not only the specific issues surrounding ICAPs, but also the phase of the research. Current ICAP research is in the early phases, with dosing and outcome measurement as prime considerations as well as refinement of the best treatment protocol. Later phases of ICAP research are outlined, and the need for larger scale collaborative funded research is recognized. The need for more rapid translation into practice is also acknowledged, and the use of hybrid models of phased research is encouraged within the ICAP research agenda.     

无骨折脱位型颈脊髓损伤26例疗效分析

目的探讨无骨折脱位型颈脊髓损伤的损伤机制、治疗方案和治疗效果。方法对26例无骨折脱位型颈脊髓损伤进行回顾性分析,并根据不同特点采用保守治疗与手术治疗,观察治疗效果。结果随访12~15个月,26例神经功能均有明显改善,根据JOA评分标准,手术治疗组术后3、6、12个月评分高于保守组同时期评分。结论颈椎管狭窄是无骨折脱位型颈脊髓损伤的重要病理基础,外力是脊髓损伤的直接原因。选择正确手术方式的治疗效果优于保守组。     

Fooling Others or Oneself? A History of Therapeutic Fads and Its Current Relevance

The author addresses the consequences of therapeutic overzealousness in light of the early 20th century historical accounts of Dr. Serge Voronoff's ill fated adventure in restoring potency in European males and Dr. Henry Cotton's misguided foray into the physical treatment of schizophrenia in New Jersey. The implications of these mishaps for the modern practice of psychiatry are discussed in view of the challenges that continue to beset the field.     

126例听神经瘤个体化治疗体会

目的总结连续治疗126例听神经瘤的体会,探讨选择性采用手术或γ-刀治疗听神经瘤的效果。方法对选择性采用手术或γ-刀治疗的126例听神经瘤病例（127个肿瘤,包括1例双侧听神经瘤）进行回顾性分析。结果枕下乙状窦后入路显微手术切除104例,行γ-刀治疗23例（1例双侧听神经瘤行以上两种治疗）。手术全切88例（84.6%）,大部切除14例（13.5%）,术后死亡2例（1.9%）。术后面神经功能保留64例（61.5%）,随访后面神经功能保留73例（70.2%）。γ-刀治疗面神经功能保留7例（30.4%）。结论听神经瘤的治疗应根据症状、体征、肿瘤大小、肿瘤生长情况及患者全身状况,个体化的选择治疗方式。选择性采用手术或γ-刀治疗听神经瘤是一种有效,可行的治疗模式。     

社区康复与住院康复对慢性精神分裂症患者家庭功能及希望水平的影响

目的比较社区康复治疗与住院康复治疗对慢性精神分裂症患者家庭功能和希望水平的影响,为改善慢性精神分裂症的预后提供参考。方法 2017年3月-7月在上海市杨浦区精神卫生中心随机抽取符合《国际疾病分类(第10版)》(ICD-10)精神分裂症诊断标准的住院患者(住院组)60例,在杨浦区的12家社区"阳光心园"纳入进行社区康复治疗的精神分裂症患者(社区组)60例。采用家庭亲密度和适应性量表中文版(FACESⅡ-CV)、Herth希望量表(HHS)评定两组患者的家庭功能和希望水平。结果 FACESⅡ-CV中,社区组"实际适应性"因子评分高于住院组[(45.51±7.27)分vs.(41.68±8.98)分,t=2.358,P=0.021];HHS中,社区组"对现实和未来的积极态度"因子评分高于住院组[(12.39±1.51)分vs.(11.70±1.79)分,t=2.095,P=0.039];总体希望水平与家庭实际亲密度和实际适应性呈正相关(P0.05或0.01)。结论与住院康复治疗相比,基于社区和家庭的康复治疗服务更有助于提高患者的家庭功能和希望水平。