The Process in Psychological Debriefings

Critical Incident Stress Debriefings have become an intervention method used in various cultures, countries and groups following critical incidents. Although the structure of such meetings has been adequately described, utilization of the group processes involved has received less attention. A model, process debriefing (PD), based on experiences from Europe, is presented. Some differences between the current CISD process in the United States and the Europe based model are outlined. Various factors that impact the process of debriefings are discussed with a special emphasis on leadership, and implications of these group process variables for psychological debriefing are presented. It is emphasized that the continued exploration and discussion of process issues is critical to advance the understanding of the critical elements of debriefing.     

Long-term follow-up of patients with persistent/recurrent,isolated haematuria: A Hungarian multicentre study

A retrospective multicentre study of 341 children with persistent/recurrent, isolated haematuria is described. The haematuria was isolated for at least 6 months at the beginning of observation. The duration of follow-up was 2–5 years in 201, 5–10 years in 119, 10–15 years in 19, and over 15 years in 2 cases. Of these patients 47.8% became symptom-free. In 18.4% the haematuria remained isolated; in 13.8% it was combined with proteinuria over 250 mg/day more than 2 years later. The occurrence of associated proteinuria increased progressively with time. It was 8.6% between the 3rd and 5th years, and 37.0% after the 5th year. Renal biopsy was performed because of the symptoms of glomerular disease in 47 cases at an average time of 12 months following the appearance of proteinuria. Proteinuria appeared after a 2–5, 5–10, 10–15 and more than 15 years follow-up period in 16, 23, 6, and 2 patients respectively; 14 of them had Alport's nephropathy. The percentage of more serious azotaemia was 1.7 (creatinine clearance: 10–50 ml/min per 1.73 m²) and 0.3 (creatinine clearance: < 10 ml/min per 1.73 m²). Mortality was 0.58%. Most of the patients who developed severe azotaemia had persistent microscopic haematuria at the beginning. The prevalence of hypertension was only 1.2%. The time of its appearance was above 5 years in 2 and below 5 years in 2 cases. All these patients had chronic glomerulonephritis. The haematuria was associated with hypercalciuria in 19.9%. In 14.3% of the overall group of patients urolithiasis developed 2–15 years after onset. All of these had hypercalciuria. Our findings suggest that symptoms of isolated haematuria may last for a longterm period and need systematic control. When proteinuria and/or hypertension is associated with haematuria a worse prognosis can be expected.Participating paediatric hospitals and university departments: Second Department of Paediatrics, I. Semmelweis Medical University of Budapest (M. Visy); Department of Paediatrics, University Medical School of Pécs (V. Jászai); Department of Paediatrics, A. Szent-Györgyi Medical University of Szeged (I. Haszon, S. Túri); County Children's Hospital, Miskolc (Á. Vissy); P. Heim Children's Hospital, Budapest (Z. Czirbesz); County Children's Hospital, Györ (Zs. Szelid); Buda-Children's Hospital, Budapest (I. Ferkis); I. Apáthy Hospital, Budapest (J. Kisbán); János Hospital, Budapest (I. Marosváry); Hospital of Hungarian State Railway, Budapest (J. Fehér); L. Madarász Hospital, Budapest (F. Kalmár); South Pest Hospital, Budapest (G. Halász); County Children's Hospital, Pécs (E. Kolman); County Children's Hospital, Gyula (P. Sipos); County Children's Hospital, Szolnok (I. Jaksics); County Children's Hospital, Debrecen (Á. Miskolczi); County Children's Hospital, Tatabánya (I. Kiss); County Children's Hospital, Eger (M. Frank, E. Ladányi); County Children's Hospital, Nyíregyháza (E. Bujdosó); County Children's Hospital, Szombathely (M. Andics); Kerepestarcsa Hospital, Budapest (M. Marcell); Komárom Hospital, Komárom (J. Kecskés)     

The usefulness of CEA as an indicator for early detection and a guide to the treatment of recurrent gastric cancer

The usefulness of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) as an indicator for recurrence and a guide to the treatment was evaluated from a retrospective analysis of 88 patients with recurrent gastric cancer. Sixty-two of these patients (70.5 per cent), 25 of whom had a preoperative positive assay, and 37 a negative assay, had elevated levels of CEA after disease progression. Averaged CEA level in patients with liver metastasis was significantly higher (872 ng/ml) than in those with peritoneal metastasis (68 ng/ml), with lymph node metastasis (103 ng/ml) or with local metastasis (93 ng/ml) (p<0.01). An elevation of CEA was found prior to the clinical manifestation of recurrence, and the average lead time was 4 months. In 25 patients with a lead time of more than 4 months, survival time after CEA elevation was 13.3 months, which was longer than the 6.5 months of 28 patients with less than 4 months. Thirty-seven of the 88 patients were treated after recurrence. The average survival period after the detection of recurrence was 9.4 months in patients with surgical treatments followed by chemotherapy, 5.9 months in those with chemotherapy alone and 3.8 months in those with surgery alone. The average survival period of 26 patients with positive CEA assays in recurrence was 5.1 months longer than of patients with negative assays. This fact suggested that early detection of recurrence followed by various treatments, in the elevated CEA group, contributes to favorable results.     

A Retrospective Review of the Use and Safety of Droperidol in a Large, High-risk, Inner-city Emergency Department Patient Population

Droperidol (DROP) is used in the emergency department (ED) for sedation, analgesia, and its antiemetic effect. Its ED safety profile has not yet been reported in patients (pts). OBJECTIVES: To document the use of DROP in high-risk pts (those with head injury, alcohol or cocaine intoxication, and/or remote or recent seizures), and to determine the number of serious and minor adverse events (AEs)-seizures, hypotension, extrapyramidal side effects (EPSEs)-after DROP. METHODS: The ED database (EmSTAT) was queried to determine who received intramuscular or intravenous DROP in the ED in 1998; further chart review was done if the patient was considered high risk for or had experienced an AE. Multiple regression analysis using a random-effects model determined the significance of each variable in the occurrence of AEs. RESULTS: 2,468 patients (aged 20 months to 98 years; 112 < or =17 years; 141 > or =66 years) received DROP for agitation (n = 1,357), pain (1,135), anxiety (99), vomiting (173), or other reasons (50). There were 945 pts considered high risk; 933 charts were reviewed (DROP mean dose 4.1 +/- 2.0 mg); of these, 50 patient visits did not meet the criteria for high risk. There were 622 pts with head trauma (401 with alcohol use), including 47 with computed tomography (CT) scans positive for brain injury, 64 with cocaine use, and 197 with recent or remote seizures (137 with alcohol use). Minor AEs such as transient hypotension occurred in 96 pts after DROP (73 with alcohol use); 20 received intravenous fluids, while an additional 28 pts (8 with alcohol use) received rescue medications for EPSEs. Six possible serious AEs occurred in pts with serious comorbidities; 2 cases of respiratory depression, 3 post-DROP seizures, and 1 cardiac arrest (resuscitated) 11 hours after DROP in a cocaine-intoxicated pt (normal QT interval). There was no significant difference among high-risk groups in the occurrence of AEs. CONCLUSIONS: The vast majority of pts who received DROP in the ED did not experience an AE. A few serious AEs were noted following DROP in patients with serious comorbidities; it is not clear that DROP was causative.     

Depression in 11–16-year-old Girls: The Role of Past Parental Psychopathology and Exposure to Recent Life Events

Abstract— Interviews with parents of a non-referred sample of 11–16-year-old girls ( n = 82) revealed that a significantly greater proportion of mothers with a lifetime: history of any psychiatric disorder also reported one or more recent undesirable life events focused on the adolescent compared with mothers with no such history, Lifetime episodes of maternal depression and recent undesirable life events exerted significant additive effects on the likelihood of depression occurring in the previous 12 months in adolescent girls. Some families may be "life event prone" as a consequence of lifetime episodes of parental psychopathology.     

Depressed pathological gamblers

Depressed gamblers (n = 14) were compared with normal controls (n = 41) for antecedent life events. The depressed gamblers had experienced significantly more life events, and undesirable or exit life events, during the 6 months before the onset of depression.     

Evaluation of CHIP (iproplatin) in recurrent pediatric malignant solid tumors

CHIP (325 mg/M²), a second generation cisplatin derivative, was administered intravenously every 3 weeks to 85 pediatric patients with recurrent sarcomas (19), osteosarcomas (20), neuroblastoma (23), germ cell tumors (10), and other malignant tumors (7). Thirty-eight of them had been previously exposed to cisplatin. Partial remissions were only observed in 3 of 23 (13% SE=7%) patients having neuroblastoma. Severe thrombocytopenia (65%) and neutropenia (35%) were the dose limiting factors.     

动脉韧带与左喉返神经的解剖研究

本文用30例成人尸体观察了动脉韧带和左喉返神经,动脉韧带长1.2.97±4.53mm,圆索状动脉韧带23例(77％),直径为3.92±1.12mm。动脉韧带的主动脉端附着于主动脉弓(80％)或降主动脉(20％),肺动脉端附着于左肺动脉,6例肺动脉端位于心包内。19例(63％)左喉返神经绕主动脉弓,11例(37％)绕动脉韧带的主动脉端。     

影响部队汽车驾驶员心身健康水平和行车安全的相关因素研究

对部队汽车驾驶员203名的心身健康和行车安全的相关因素研究表明:驾驶员可发生心身障碍,尤其眼和耳、呼吸系统,骨胳肌肉系统及抑郁等为著。其影响因素,主要有负性精神紧张总值(-Lcu)、个性的精神质、神经质、掩饰性、内向倾向、开车公里数、开车年限及精神疾病家族史。某些心身问题、神经质、掩饰性较高、年龄偏大、开车公里数多及开车年限长等与事故差错的发生有关。