Comparing re‐hospitalisation rates in a real‐world naturalistic 24‐month follow‐up of psychotic patients with different treatment strategies: Oral versus LAI antipsychotics

AIM & BACKGROUND Non-adherence to antipsychotic treatment is a major issue in the management of severe psychiatric disorders, because it is usually related to future relapses and re-hospitalisations. Long-Acting-Injection (LAI) antipsychotics can be useful to increase treatment adherence in these patients. The aim of the present study was to compare the re-hospitalisation rates of psychotic patients discharged from a psychiatric ward and then, divided into three groups upon the treatment received: LAI antipsychotic, oral antipsychotic at home or oral antipsychotic administered daily by psychiatric nurse staff as patients lived in a long-term care facility. METHODS Data on all inpatients consecutively admitted to the Psychiatric Unit of the Nuovo Ospedale Apuano (Massa, Italy), between January 2017 and December 2018, were obtained by the registration record system. Information about eventual re-hospitalisations of these patients, occurred within a 24-month timeframe since discharge, were collected from the same database. RESULTS In a Kaplan-Meyer analysis, patients treated with LAI antipsychotics showed significantly lower re-hospitalisation rates in the first 24 months after discharge than those treated with oral ones. CONCLUSIONS This study highlights the impact of LAI antipsychotics in preventing re-hospitalisation in severe psychotic patients at high risk in a naturalistic setting. The benefits appear relevant also with respect to a controlled long-term oral antipsychotic treatment, however, further studies are needed to develop more tailored intervention strategies in such complex psychiatric population

A 12-month longitudinal naturalistic follow-up of cariprazine in schizophrenia

BackgroundCariprazine, a third-generation antipsychotic (TGAs), has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of schizophrenia with good tolerability profile. Actual real-world literature data are lacking, particularly when exploring its efficacy in the long term. The present study examined the effects of cariprazine treatment on specific psychopathological domains with a particular focus on outcomes and side effects in real-life experience, after a long-term treatment.MethodsThe present 12-month longitudinal naturalistic study included a sample of subjects with a DSM-5-TR diagnosis of schizophrenia, recruited in the outpatients’ psychiatric services of university and community hospitals in Italy, naturally treated with cariprazine. The assessments included: a sociodemographic data sheet, the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-5 (SCID-5), the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) and the St. Hans Rating Scale (SHRS). The PANSS was also administered after 6 (T1) and 12 (T2) months of treatment with cariprazine while the SHRS at T1.ResultsThe total sample consisted of 31 patients, 15 males and 16 females. A significant decrease of the PANSS’ subscales, Marder factors and total mean scores emerged at both T1 and T2 with respect to T0. Extrapyramidal symptoms occurred in a minority of patients and in mild or mild/moderate forms: no patient showed moderate forms of psychic/motor akathisia or dystonia, three subjects showed moderate parkinsonism.ConclusionsThis study confirms a good efficacy profile of cariprazine in both positive and negative symptoms in patients with Schizophrenia, combined with a good tolerability profile in extrapyramidal symptoms

Do Autistic Traits Correlate with Post-Traumatic Stress and Mood Spectrum Symptoms among Workers Complaining of Occupational Stress?

The adult autism subthreshold spectrum model appears to be a useful tool for detecting possible vulnerability factors in order to develop mental disorders in the contest of work-related stress. The aim of the present study is to analyze the relationship between autism, mood, and post-traumatic spectrum in a cohort of subjects complaining of work-related stress before the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors carried out a retrospective investigation of both medical records and self-assessment tools of a sample of subjects evaluated at the Occupational Health Department of a University hospital in central Italy. Data showed significant correlations between the AdAS spectrum, TALS-SR, and MOODS total and domain scores. A multiple linear regression evidenced that both the AdAS spectrum and TAL-SR significantly predict the MOODS scores. In particular, mediation analysis showed both a direct and indirect, mediated by TALS-SR, effect of the AdAS Spectrum on the MOODS-SR. These results corroborate the role of autistic traits in influencing the traumatic impact of work-related stress and the development of mood spectrum symptoms

Correlazione tra sintomi maniacali lifetime, PTSD e spettro post-traumatico da stress in studenti sopravvissuti al terremoto di L'Aquila 2009: differenze di genere.

Correlazione tra sintomi maniacali lifetime, PTSD e spettro post-traumatico da stress in studenti sopravvissuti al terremoto di L'Aquila 2009: differenze di genere

A dimensional approach to the assessment of psychiatric comorbidity in treatment-seeking subjects with Gambling Disorder

Gambling disorder (GD) is defined as “persistent and recurrent problematic gambling behavior leading to clinically significant impairment or distress” and in the last edition of the DSM-5, it was categorized into the substance related and addictive disorders group. GD has also been consistently associated with a range of co-morbid psychiatric conditions, including alcohol and substance use disorders, mood and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and neurodevelopmental disorders. The present study was aimed at examining in a sample of 48 treatment-seeking subjects with GD rates of psychiatric comorbidity by the use of the SCID-5, besides evaluating mood, posttraumatic stress and autistic spectrum symptoms by means of the MOODS-SR, TALS-SR and AdAS Spectrum scales. Secondary objective was to investigate the possible relationship between the psychiatric comorbidity and the severity of the GD. The study sample was found to be affected by high rates of psychiatric comorbidity. Furthermore, relevant mood, posttraumatic stress and autistic spectrum symptoms were reported by the subjects, with levels significantly higher than in healthy controls. The various symptomathological dimensions assessed by the three spectrum tools appear to be also related to the severity of specific features of GD. Future longitudinal studies on the relationship between these different psychopathological cluster and the GD are needed in order to identify specific and also better treatment strategies for these complex condition

Unexpected subthreshold autism spectrum in a 25-year-old male stalker hospitalized for delusional disorder: a case report

This paper highlights the clinical challenges faced when assessing patients with stalking behaviors with psychotic disorders, suggesting the need for an accurate assessment of adult autism spectrum symptoms. A 25-year-old man with a diagnosis of delusional disorder, erotomanic type, was hospitalized for acute psychotic symptoms occurred in the framework of a repeated stalking behavior towards his ex girlfriend. When assessed for adult autism spectrum symptoms upon an accurate clinical evaluation, he reported elevated scores in the mentalizing deficit and social anxiety domains by means of the 14 item Ritvo Autism and Asperger Diagnostic Scale (RAADS-14). Authors discuss a possible role of adult (subthreshold) autism spectrum symptoms, generally disregarded in adult psychiatry, on the type of psychotic features and stalking behavior developed that may help for appropriate diagnosis and treatment

Mental Health Symptoms among General Practitioners Facing the Acute Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Detecting Different Reaction Groups

During the 2020 first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, general practitioners (GPs) represented the first line of primary care and were highly exposed to the pandemic risks, with a consequent risk of developing a wide range of mental health symptoms. However, scant data are still available on factors associated with a worse outcome. The aim of the present study was to investigate mental health symptoms in 139 GPs in the aftermath of the first COVID-19 national lockdown in Italy, detecting groups of subjects with different depressive, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress symptom severity. The impact of the mental health symptoms on quality of life and individual functioning were also evaluated. A cluster analysis identified three groups with mild (44.6%), moderate (35.3%), and severe psychopathological burden (20.1%). Higher symptom severity was related to younger age, fewer years in service as GPs, working in a high incidence area for the pandemic, having a relative at risk of medical complications due to COVID-19, besides more severe global functioning impairment, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. The present findings showed that GPs, forced to perform their professional activity in extremely stressful conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, were at high risk of developing mental health problems and a worse quality of life

Il lutto complicato nell’era del DSM-5 [Complicated Grief in DSM-5 era]

An increasing number of data has been recently focused on recognizing pathological grief reactions and on the distinction from physiological processes. Particularly, several studies have supported Complicated Grief (CG) as an independent disorder, in order to define the failure of spontaneous physiological mourning resolution. Upon these studies, the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) with the name of "Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder". This article aims at retracing the history of clinical research about the physiological and psychopathological processes related to grief and aims at presenting the main scientific studies that have described the features of the CG defining it as a distinct disorder. Similarities and distinctions among CG and Depression, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Adjustment Disorder were also reported