Patient,Provider, and Treatment Factors Associated with Poor-Quality Care for Schizophrenia

Interventions are needed to improve the quality of care for schizophrenia. However, in designing these interventions it would be helpful to understand better which patients are at highest risk for poor-quality care and why care for this disorder is often of poor quality. We study the extent to which patient and treatment factors are associated with poor-quality care in 224 patients randomly sampled from two mental health clinics. Quality of medication management is evaluated using an established method based on national treatment recommendations. Multivariate regression is used to study the effect of patient and treatment factors on treatment quality, controlling for provider. Risk for poor-quality care was greater for patients who were more severely ill, older, and less compliant with treatment recommendations. There were trends toward poor management of symptoms in men and substance abusers, and poor management of side effects in Black patients. Provision of poor-quality care was associated with failure to document symptoms and side effects in the medical record. Interventions to improve care for schizophrenia should attend to the need for accurate clinical assessment and strategies for managing challenging clinical situations.     

Hemodialysis in elderly patients

International Urology and Nephrology -     

Abnormal illness behavior and psychiatric disorders: a study in an outpatient clinic in Japan

Abnormal illness behavior, such as hypochondriacal attitude and inappropriate treatment-seeking, has been associated with various psychiatric disorders in which patients tend to abuse medical services and seek inappropriate treatment in general practice clinics rather than psychiatric clinics. However, the relationship between illness behavior and psychiatric disorders in Japan is yet to be elucidated. We examined the abnormal illness behavior of 243 patients who visited the outpatient department of psychiatry at Saga Medical School Hospital, Saga, Japan, using a Japanese version of the Illness Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ). Multivariate analysis indicated significant association between some of the IBQ scale scores and age, sex and employment status. Patients with anxiety disorder scored higher on five of the seven IBQ scales compared with patients with another major disorder (mood disorder, schizophrenia or somatoform disorder). When compared with the IBQ scale scores reported in Australian patients in a psychiatric hospital, most of the IBQ scale scores differed significantly in our patients; a higher score among Japanese patients on the general hypochondriasis scale was most prominent. A similar trend in IBQ scale scores was also noted among Japanese patients visiting the hospital's general medicine clinic in comparison with Australian patients visiting a general practice clinic. Japanese patients with anxiety disorder may display the most salient abnormal illness behaviors among patients with psychiatric disorders. Sociocultural background may contribute to the characteristic abnormal illness behaviors of Japanese patients.     

The novel infra‐pectineal buttress plates used for internal fixation of elderly quadrilateral surface involved acetabular fractures

ObjectivesIn geriatric acetabular fractures, the quadrilateral surface (QLS) was frequently involved in acetabular fracture patterns and accompanied by medial displacement. It was important to buttress the medial displaced QLS and reconstruct the congruity of the affected acetabulum. To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the novel infra‐pectineal quadrilateral surface buttress plates for the treatment of geriatric acetabular fractures.MethodsTwenty‐three geriatric patients who were treated for acetabular fractures involving QLS with the novel infra‐pectineal buttress plates (NIBP) through a single supra‐ilioinguinal approach between January 2015 and June 2019 were retrospectively analyzed; all patients received at least 1 year''s follow‐up. All patients were aged ≥60 years old and including 18 males and five females. Radiologic and clinical outcomes of patients involved in the study were collated and analyzed according to the Matta scoring system and the Merle D''Aubigné–Postel scoring system. The functional recovery scoring was compared using q‐test.ResultsAll 23 consecutive patients had relatively satisfactory clinical treatment effectiveness. Average ages, length of incision, operation time, and intraoperative blood loss were 69.8 ± 6.1 years, 12.1 ± 2.6 cm, 166.5 ± 43.5 min, and 500 (500,700) ml, respectively. According to the Matta scoring system, 14 cases of reduction were graded as excellent, five as good, and four as fair. At the last follow‐up, the clinical outcome evaluation was excellent in 13 cases, good in seven cases, and poor in three cases with the use of the Merle D''Aubigné–Postel scoring system. The difference of modified Merle D''Aubigne‐Postel score at 3 months, 6 months and last follow up was statistically significant (F = 21.56, p < 0.05). Postoperative lateral femoral cutaneous nerve injury occurred in three patients and heterotopic ossification occurred in one patient.ConclusionsFor the treatment of geriatric acetabular fractures, the NIBP could provide stable and effective fixation to the QLS involved acetabular fractures, and related satisfactory clinical results with few complications were noted.     

Knowledge and attitudes of physicians toward forensic psychiatry in Saudi Arabia

Objectives:To assess the knowledge and attitudes of physicians of different specialties, including psychiatrists, regarding forensic psychiatry to determine whether further modification or training is needed in the psychiatry residency program.Methods:This cross-sectional study was carried out using a 3-page, 3-section questionnaire containing 21 questions disseminated randomly online via Google forms using social media platforms. The 482 participants were residents, specialists, and consultants of various specialties. The study was conducted between September 2020 and August 2021 in various tertiary hospitals across Saudi Arabia.Results:A total of 482 physicians were recruited. The most common age group was 25-35 years, comprising mostly Saudis (62.4%). Based on the results, “poor” and “good” knowledge of forensic psychiatry was identified in 89% and 11% of the physicians, while “negative” and “positive” attitudes were identified in 16.4% and 83.6% of the physicians.Conclusion:Although the perspective of physicians regarding forensic psychiatry was found to be positive, their knowledge of the topic seems to be lacking.     

精神科医院感染现患率调查分析与预防对策

目的：了解我院医院感染现状,及时发现医院感染的相关因素及感染管理中存在的不足,为进一步制定防控措施提供依据。方法采取横断面调查方法,以床旁调查与病历查阅相结合,填写统一的个案调查表。结果调查住院患者218人,实查率100%,医院感染现患率1.83％;医院感染部位主要为呼吸道,主要感染科室为老年科。结论现患率调查能基本反映医院的感染状况,通过针对性的预防控制措施,可以有效降低院内感染发生率。     

Promoting Faculty Support and Participation in Geriatric Teaching Programs

No abstract available for this article.     

Screening and Quantification of Depression in Mild-to-Moderate Dementia Through the GDS Short Forms

Abstract

We evaluated the validity of the 1-, 4- and 15-item versions of the GDS in 51 patients affected by mild to moderate dementia, using the long form as standard. The following sensitivity and specificity values were obtained: 66% and 91% for GDS-1, 93% and 87% for GDS-4, 79% and 100% for GDS-15. GDS-15 also showed good agreement with GDS-30 in defining the severity of depression. These findings support the use of GDS-4 for the screening of depression and of GDS-15 for its severity assessment.     

An Interprofessional Psychiatric Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience

Objective. To create an interprofessional psychiatry advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) and assess the initial outcomes.Design. An elective psychiatry APPE was developed in a setting of interdisciplinary practice. Preceptor responsibilities were shared between a psychiatric pharmacist and an attending psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner. Students were also given the opportunity to shadow and work with other health care professionals such as nurses, social workers, therapists, family nurse practitioners, and utilization review staff members.Assessment. Midpoint and final evaluations demonstrated student advancement throughout the experience as well as the development of communication skills with patients and an increased ability to work collaboratively with other health care providers. Students rated this practice experience highly and their comments reflected achievement of the established learning objectives.Conclusion. An interdisciplinary elective practice experience in psychiatry at a local teaching hospital was effective in teaching psychiatric care and interprofessional interaction. This teaching model can be adapted for use in other practice settings or specialty areas.