Clinical and scientific progress related to the interface between cardiology and psychology: lessons learned from 35 years of experience at the Thoraxcenter of the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam

In November 1975, as the first in the Netherlands, a full-time psychologist was employed at the Department of Cardiology of the Thoraxcenter of the Erasmus Medical Center. This innovative decision was consistent with a view to treat the patient as a whole rather than the heart as a single body part in need of repair, combined with the understanding that the heart and mind interact to affect health. The present selective review addresses the broad range of contributions of 35 years of psychology to clinical cardiology and cardiovascular research with a focus on research, teaching, psychological screening and patient care. The review ends with lessons to be learned and challenges for the future with respect to improving the care and management of patients with heart disease in order to enhance secondary prevention and the role of behavioural and psychological factors in this endeavour

RNA viruses in community-acquired childhood pneumonia in semi-urban Nepal; a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pneumonia is among the main causes of illness and death in children <5 years of age. There is a need to better describe the epidemiology of viral community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in developing countries.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>From July 2004 to June 2007, we examined nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) from 2,230 cases of pneumonia (World Health Organization criteria) in children 2 to 35 months old recruited in a randomized trial of zinc supplementation at a field clinic in Bhaktapur, Nepal. The specimens were examined for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza virus type A (InfA) and B (InfB), parainfluenza virus types 1, 2 and 3 (PIV1, PIV2, and PIV3), and human metapneumovirus (hMPV) using a multiplex reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We identified 919 virus isolates in 887 (40.0%) of the 2,219 NPA specimens with a valid PCR result, of which 334 (15.1%) yielded RSV, 164 (7.4%) InfA, 129 (5.8%) PIV3, 98 (4.4%) PIV1, 93 (4.2%) hMPV, 84 (3.8%) InfB, and 17 (0.8%) PIV2. CAP occurred in an epidemic pattern with substantial temporal variation during the three years of study. The largest peaks of pneumonia occurrence coincided with peaks of RSV infection, which occurred in epidemics during the rainy season and in winter. The monthly number of RSV infections was positively correlated with relative humidity (<it>r</it>_{<it>s </it>}= 0.40, <it>P </it>= 0.01), but not with temperature or rainfall. An hMPV epidemic occurred during one of the three winter seasons and the monthly number of hMPV cases was also associated with relative humidity (<it>r</it>_{<it>s </it>}= 0.55, <it>P </it>= 0.0005).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Respiratory RNA viruses were detected from NPA in 40% of CAP cases in our study. The most commonly isolated viruses were RSV, InfA, and PIV3. RSV infections contributed substantially to the observed CAP epidemics. The occurrence of viral CAP in this community seemed to reflect more or less overlapping micro-epidemics with several respiratory viruses, highlighting the challenges of developing and implementing effective public health control measures.</p

Concerns about the implantable cardioverter defibrillator: a determinant of anxiety and depressive symptoms independent of experienced shocks

Background: Patients with an implantable cardioverter clefibrillator (ICD) are at increased risk of anxiety disorders. In turn, anxiety has been identified as a precipitant of ventricular arrhythmias. Anxiety may in part be attributed to concerns about the ICD firing, but the relationship between ICD concerns, psychological morbidity, and shocks has not been systematically investigated. We examined the relative importance of experienced shocks versus subjective concerns about the ICD as determinants of anxiety and depressive symptoms in ICD patients. Methods: Consecutive surviving patients (n = 182, response rate = 82%) having had an ICD implanted between October 1998 and January 2003 at the Erasmus Medical Centre Rotterdam were asked to fill in the ICD Patient Concerns Questionnaire and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Clinical variables were obtained from the patients' medical records. Results: A total of 55 (30%) patients had received a shock from the ICD. Although patients who had experienced a shock scored higher on ICD concerns, ICD concerns was the only independent determinant of anxiety (odds ratio 6.35, 95% CI 2.84-14.20) and depressive symptoms (odds ratio 2.29, 95% Cl 1.06-4.96) adjusting for shocks and all other factors. Conclusions: Patient concerns about the ICD may be an important indicator of psychosocial adjustment. Screening for lCD patient concerns using the ICD Patient Concerns Questionnaire may identify patients at risk for psychological morbidity after ICD implantation