Barriers and Facilitators for Return to Work from the Perspective of Workers with Common Mental Disorders with Short,Medium and Long-Term Sickness Absence: A Longitudinal Qualitative Study

Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation - Purpose Although common mental disorders (CMDs) highly impact individuals and society, a knowledge gap exists on how sickness absence can be prevented in...     

The Intentional Differences: A Qualitative Study of the Views and Experiences of Non-peer Mental Health Providers on Working Together with Peer Support Colleagues in Mental Health

Community Mental Health Journal - The study reports the results of a qualitative study on the views and experiences of non-peer mental health providers on working together with peer colleagues in...     

The association between psychopathology of first-episode psychosis patients within the schizophrenia spectrum and previous offending

Patients with schizophrenia have been shown to have an increased risk of criminality. The aim was to describe possible psychopathological differences between schizophrenia spectrum patients with and without a criminal career before first-episode psychosis. In a multi-centre study, 16 psychiatric treatment centres included and rated 477 patients with first-episode psychosis over a 2-year period on socio-demography, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, OPerational CRITeria checklist, Global Assessment of Functioning, Premorbid Adjustment Scale and Self-report Insight Scale for psychosis. Data were linked with data concerning criminal and psychiatric history. No key characteristics were found to assist the early detection of criminal persons before first psychiatric hospital contact for a psychotic incident. However, when adjusted for sex, age, abuse, living conditions, marital status, employment status and education, a primarily positive symptomatology was associated with a prior criminal career. The premorbid level of functioning and several function parameters were also significantly associated with criminal history. There are significant differences in psychopathology between schizophrenia spectrum patients with and without a criminal career before first-episode psychosis, and a better screening procedure in the judicial system could detect these individuals earlier and make adequate treatment possible.     

Taking cognizance of mental illness in schizophrenics and its association with crime and substance-related diagnoses

OBJECTIVE: To analyse how committed crimes and substance-related diagnoses are associated with the age on the first contact with the psychiatric hospital system and the age at diagnosing of schizophrenia among schizophrenics. METHOD: In a register-based study including all Danes diagnosed with schizophrenia born after November 1, 1963, data on criminality, substance-related diagnoses and contacts with the psychiatric hospital system were analysed. RESULTS: Compared with the non-convicted schizophrenics the convicted were older on first contact with the psychiatric hospital system and older when the diagnosis of schizophrenia was first given. In contrast, having a substance-related diagnosis was associated with a younger age on first contact but did not influence the age at which the diagnosis of schizophrenia was given. CONCLUSION: It is important that both psychiatrists and the judicial system are aware of possible psychotic symptoms in criminal and abusing individuals to enable earlier detection and treatment.     

Continuous vectorcardiography is superior to standard electrocardiography in the prediction of long-term outcome after thrombolysis in patients with acute myocardial infarction

BACKGROUND: Thrombolytic therapy results in reperfusion of the occluded coronary vessel in approximately 75% of treated patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Unsuccessful thrombolysis results in impaired outcome. This study was undertaken to evaluate reperfusion assessments with 12-lead standard static electrocardiography (ECG) and continuous vectorcardiography (VCG) in AMI patients treated with thrombolytic therapy, with particular emphasis on the value of these assessments in relation to long-term outcome. METHODS: ST-recovery analysis 90 and 180 min after the start of thrombolytic therapy was performed by repeated ECG and by VCG in 63 AMI patients. Median follow-up was 255 days. RESULTS: No significant differences in long-term outcome were found between patients with or without obtained reperfusion, as assessed by ECG. For VCG, we found significant elevated relative risks for experiencing death (relative risk = 11.00, confidence interval = 2.70-44.90); P = 0.0008 for the group with ST-vector magnitude recovery of less than 50% at 90 min from start of thrombolytic therapy. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that early reperfusion assessment with VCG enables the prediction of long-term outcome and is superior to reperfusion assessment with standard static ECG in this regard. We therefore recommend continuous ischemia monitoring of AMI patients treated with thrombolytic therapy as a routine procedure.     

Continuous popliteal sciatic nerve block for outpatient foot surgery--a randomized, controlled trial

BACKGROUND: A major problem in outpatient foot surgery is severe postoperative pain that is not sufficiently treated by peroral analgesics. METHODS: Sixty-three patients underwent foot surgery under spinal anesthesia. Immediately on conclusion of the operation, sciatic and saphenous nerve blocks were performed. The sciatic nerve was blocked in the popliteal fossa with 30 ml of ropivacaine 5 mg ml(-1) and a perineural catheter was passed through the cannula. The patients were randomized to receive either ropivacaine 2 mg ml(-1) (n=30) or saline (n=30) in the catheter through a disposable elastomeric pump with a fixed infusion rate of 5 ml h(-1) for 55 h. RESULTS: Analgesia was excellent until 23 h 44 min (14 h 34 min) in the treatment group and 18 h 16 min (7 h) in the placebo group [mean (SD), P=0.07]. Thereafter, pain was significantly less in the treatment group on the first and second postoperative days (P=0.001). Sleep disturbances because of the pain in the foot were experienced by 25% of the treatment group on the first night at home and by 50% of the control group (P=0.29). There were no differences between the groups in their need for rescue opioid medication. None of the patients had any major problem with the catheter or pump, and none had any toxic effect referable to the technique. CONCLUSION: This randomized, double-blind study shows that continuous blockade of the sciatic nerve in the popliteal fossa reduces postoperative pain and has no untoward effects in a patient group known to experience severe pain after ambulatory surgery.     

Pulmonary effects of gastroschisis in a fetal rabbit model

Respiratory insufficiency is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity among infants with anterior abdominal wall defects (AWD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the pulmonary effects in a fetal rabbit model where gastroschisis was induced at midgestation. Gastroschisis (GAS) was created in 20 rabbit fetuses on day 22 or 23 of gestation (pseudoglandular phase; term = 31-32 days). The amniotic sacs of 13 fetuses were subjected to hysterotomy and amniotomy only (HYST), while 13 underwent a sham laparotomy which was immediately closed by sutures (SHAM). Eleven nonoperated littermates served as internal controls (CTR). Fetuses were harvested by cesarean section on day 31 of gestation prior to respiration. Pulmonary response was evaluated by left lung to body weight ratio (LWBWR), airway morphometry, and density of type II pneumocytes, as evaluated by the number of surfactant protein B-positive cells. Fetuses from the GAS group had significantly lower body weights than did CTR (P = 0.0129). Of these fetuses, 27% were growth-restricted, i.e., with a body weight under the 10th percentile of the CTR population. There were no differences in left lung weight and LWBWR among the GAS and CTR groups. Moreover, the GAS group had similar alveolar size, alveolar wall thickness, and type II cell density as CTR fetuses. Only mean terminal bronchiolar density (MTBD), which is inversely related to the alveolar space, was slightly increased in the GAS group, but without reaching significance (P = 0.0821). No effect on lung growth and maturation could be demonstrated in this study.