A study of a culturally focused psychiatric consultation service for Asian American and Latino American primary care patients with depression

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ethnic minorities with depression are more likely to seek mental health care through primary care providers (PCPs) than mental health specialists. However, both provider and patient-specific challenges exist. PCP-specific challenges include unfamiliarity with depressive symptom profiles in diverse patient populations, limited time to address mental health, and limited referral options for mental health care. Patient-specific challenges include stigma around mental health issues and reluctance to seek mental health treatment. To address these issues, we implemented a multi-component intervention for Asian American and Latino American primary care patients with depression at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>We propose a randomized controlled trial to evaluate a culturally appropriate intervention to improve the diagnosis and treatment of depression in our target population. Our goals are to facilitate a) primary care providers' ability to provide appropriate, culturally informed care of depression, and b) patients' knowledge of and resources for receiving treatment for depression. Our two-year long intervention targets Asian American and Latino American adult (18 years of age or older) primary care patients at MGH screening positive for symptoms of depression. All eligible patients in the intervention arm of the study who screen positive will be offered a culturally focused psychiatric (CFP) consultation. Patients will meet with a study clinician and receive toolkits that include psychoeducational booklets, worksheets and community resources. Within two weeks of the initial consultation, patients will attend a follow-up visit with the CFP clinicians. Primary outcomes will determine the feasibility and cost associated with implementation of the service, and evaluate patient and provider satisfaction with the CFP service. Exploratory aims will describe the study population at screening, recruitment, and enrollment and identify which variables influenced patient participation in the program.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The study involves an innovative yet practical intervention that builds on existing resources and strives to improve quality of care for depression for minorities. Additionally, it complements the current movement in psychiatry to enhance the treatment of depression in primary care settings. If found beneficial, the intervention will serve as a model for care of Asian American and Latino American patients.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01239407">NCT01239407</a></p

The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 for detection of major depressive disorder in primary care: consequences of current thresholds in a crosssectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is a need for brief instruments to ascertain the diagnosis of major depressive disorder. In this study, we present the reliability, construct validity and accuracy of the PHQ-9 and PHQ-2 to detect major depressive disorder in primary care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cross-sectional analyses within a large prospective cohort study (PREDICT-NL). Data was collected in seven large general practices in the centre of the Netherlands. 1338 subjects were recruited in the general practice waiting room, irrespective of their presenting complaint. The diagnostic accuracy (the area under the ROC curve and sensitivities and specificities for various thresholds) was calculated against a diagnosis of major depressive disorder determined with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The PHQ-9 showed a high degree of internal consistency (ICC = 0.88) and test-retest reliability (correlation = 0.94). With respect to construct validity, it showed a clear association with functional status measurements, sick days and number of consultations. The discriminative ability was good for the PHQ-9 (area under the ROC curve = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.84-0.90) and the PHQ-2 (ROC area = 0.83, 95% CI 0.80-0.87). Sensitivities at the recommended thresholds were 0.49 for the PHQ-9 at a score of 10 and 0.28 for a categorical algorithm. Adjustment of the threshold and the algorithm improved sensitivities to 0.82 and 0.84 respectively but the specificity decreased from 0.95 to 0.82 (threshold) and from 0.98 to 0.81 (algorithm). Similar results were found for the PHQ-2: the recommended threshold of 3 had a sensitivity of 0.42 and lowering the threshold resulted in an improved sensitivity of 0.81.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The PHQ-9 and the PHQ-2 are useful instruments to detect major depressive disorder in primary care, provided a high score is followed by an additional diagnostic work-up. However, often recommended thresholds for the PHQ-9 and the PHQ-2 resulted in many undetected major depressive disorders.</p

Factor structure and measurement invariance across various demographic groups and over time for the phq-9 in primary care patients in spain

The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) is a widely-used screening tool for depression in primary care settings. The purpose of the present study is to identify the factor structure of the PHQ-9 and to examine the measurement invariance of this instrument across different sociodemographic groups and over time in a sample of primary care patients in Spain. Data came from 836 primary care patients enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (PsicAP study) and a subsample of 218 patients who participated in a follow-up assessment at 3 months. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test one- and two-factor structures identified in previous studies. Analyses of multiple-group invariance were conducted to determine the extent to which the factor structure is comparable across various demo- graphic groups (i.e., gender, age, marital status, level of education, and employment situa- tion) and over time. Both one-factor and two-factor re-specified models met all the pre- established fit criteria. However, because the factors identified in the two-factor model were highly correlated (r = .86), the one-factor model was preferred for its parsimony. Multi-group CFA indicated measurement invariance across different demographic groups and across time. The present findings suggest that physicians in Spain can use the PHQ-9 to obtain a global score for depression severity in different demographic groups and to reliably monitor changes over time in the primary care setting

Development and Validation of an Automated High-Throughput System for Zebrafish In Vivo Screenings

The zebrafish is a vertebrate model compatible with the paradigms of drug discovery. The small size and transparency of zebrafish embryos make them amenable for the automation necessary in high-throughput screenings. We have developed an automated high-throughput platform for in vivo chemical screenings on zebrafish embryos that includes automated methods for embryo dispensation, compound delivery, incubation, imaging and analysis of the results. At present, two different assays to detect cardiotoxic compounds and angiogenesis inhibitors can be automatically run in the platform, showing the versatility of the system. A validation of these two assays with known positive and negative compounds, as well as a screening for the detection of unknown anti-angiogenic compounds, have been successfully carried out in the system developed. We present a totally automated platform that allows for high-throughput screenings in a vertebrate organism

Collaborative stepped care for anxiety disorders in primary care: aims and design of a randomized controlled trial

Background. Panic disorder (PD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are two of the most disabling and costly anxiety disorders seen in primary care. However, treatment quality of these disorders in primary care generally falls beneath the standard of international guidelines. Collaborative stepped care is recommended for improving treatment of anxiety disorders, but cost-effectiveness of such an intervention has not yet been assessed in primary care. This article describes the aims and design of a study that is currently underway. The aim of this study is to evaluate effects and costs of a collaborative stepped care approach in the primary care setting for patients with PD and GAD compared with care as usual. Methods/design. The study is a two armed, cluster randomized controlled trial. Care managers and their primary care practices will be randomized to deliver either collaborative stepped care (CSC) or care as usual (CAU). In the CSC group a general practitioner, care manager and psychiatrist work together in a collaborative care framework. Stepped care is provided in three steps: 1) guided self-help, 2) cognitive behavioral therapy and 3) antidepressant medication. Primary care patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of PD and/or GAD will be included. 134 completers are needed to attain sufficient power to show a clinically significant effect of 1/2 SD on the primary outcome measure, the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Data on anxiety symptoms, mental and physical health, quality of life, health resource use and productivity will be collected at baseline and after three, six, nine and twelve months. Discussion. It is hypothesized that the collaborative stepped care intervention will be more cost-effective than care as usual. The pragmatic design of this study will enable the researchers to evaluate what is possible in real clinical practice, rather than under ideal circumstances. Many requirements for a high quality trial are being met. Results of this study will contribute to treatment options for GAD and PD in the primary care setting. Results will become available in 2011. Trial registration. NTR1071

Elective Cancer Surgery in COVID-19-Free Surgical Pathways During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: An International, Multicenter, Comparative Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19-free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19-free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS: Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19-free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19-free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score-matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION: Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19-free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

Elective cancer surgery in COVID-19-free surgical pathways during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: An international, multicenter, comparative cohort study

PURPOSE As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19–free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19–free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19–free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19–free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score–matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19–free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

Probability of Major Depression Classification Based on the SCID, CIDI and MINI Diagnostic Interviews : A Synthesis of Three Individual Participant Data Meta-Analyses

Three previous individual participant data meta-analyses (IPDMAs) reported that, compared to the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM (SCID), alternative reference standards, primarily the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), tended to misclassify major depression status, when controlling for depression symptom severity. However, there was an important lack of precision in the results.To compare the odds of the major depression classification based on the SCID, CIDI, and MINI.We included and standardized data from 3 IPDMA databases. For each IPDMA, separately, we fitted binomial generalized linear mixed models to compare the adjusted odds ratios (aORs) of major depression classification, controlling for symptom severity and characteristics of participants, and the interaction between interview and symptom severity. Next, we synthesized results using a DerSimonian-Laird random-effects meta-analysis.In total, 69,405 participants (7,574 [11%] with major depression) from 212 studies were included. Controlling for symptom severity and participant characteristics, the MINI (74 studies; 25,749 participants) classified major depression more often than the SCID (108 studies; 21,953 participants; aOR 1.46; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11-1.92]). Classification odds for the CIDI (30 studies; 21,703 participants) and the SCID did not differ overall (aOR 1.19; 95% CI 0.79-1.75); however, as screening scores increased, the aOR increased less for the CIDI than the SCID (interaction aOR 0.64; 95% CI 0.52-0.80).Compared to the SCID, the MINI classified major depression more often. The odds of the depression classification with the CIDI increased less as symptom levels increased. Interpretation of research that uses diagnostic interviews to classify depression should consider the interview characteristics