scholarly journals When the going gets tougher: the importance of long-term supportive psychotherapy in psychosis

2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Meaden ◽  
Susie Van Marle

There has been considerable progress in recent years in developing psychosocial interventions for people who experience persistent psychotic symptoms. However, it is sometimes difficult to generalise these findings into routine clinical practice. Long-term, psychodynamically informed, supportive psychotherapy is a valuable approach for working with individuals for whom current psychosocial interventions are ineffective or where unhelpful team reactions are obstacles to care. Its principles are used to inform a multiaxial formulation, which is shared with the treatment team and guides treatment, promoting good-quality comprehensive routine care. The benefits of this approach can best be seen at the individual case level using a subsequent multiaxial reformulation.

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 135-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajan Nathan ◽  
Peter Wilson

SUMMARYApproaches to assessing violence in clinical practice have been influenced by developments in the field of risk assessment. As a result, there has been a focus on identifying and describing factors associated with violence. However, a factor-based approach to assessing violence in individual cases has limited clinical utility. In response, the benefits of a formulation-based approach have been promoted. This approach is enhanced by an understanding of the specific mental mechanisms that increase the likelihood of violence in the individual case. Although there is an empirical evidence base for mental mechanisms associated with violence, this literature has not been distilled and synthesised in a way that informs routine clinical practice. In this article the authors present the key mechanisms that are known to be associated with violence in a way that is relevant to the clinical assessment of violence and, in turn, can inform clinical and risk management.


2019 ◽  
Vol 216 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audun Osland Vik-Mo ◽  
Lasse Melvaer Giil ◽  
Miguel Germán Borda ◽  
Clive Ballard ◽  
Dag Aarsland

IntroductionUnderstanding the natural course of neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in dementia is important for planning patient care and trial design, but few studies have described the long-term course of NPS in individuals.MethodPrimary inclusion of 223 patients with suspected mild dementia from general practice were followed by annual assessment, including the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), for up to 12 years. Total and item NPI scores were classified as stable, relapsing, single episodic or not present based on 4.96 (s.d. 2.3) observations (98% completeness of longitudinal data) for 113 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 84 patients with LBD (68 dementia with Lewy bodies and 16 Parkinson's disease dementia).ResultsWe found that 80% had stable NPI total ≥1, 50% had stable modest NPI total ≥12 and 25% had stable NPI total ≥24 scores. Very severe NPS (≥48) were mostly single episodes, but 8% of patients with Alzheimer's disease had stable severe NPS. Patients with Alzheimer's disease and the highest 20% NPI total scores had a more stable or relapsing course of four key symptoms: aberrant motor behaviour, aggression/agitation, delusions and irritability (odds ratio 55, P < 0.001). This was not seen in LBD. Finally, 57% of patients with Alzheimer's disease and 84% of patients with LBD had reoccurring psychotic symptoms.ConclusionsWe observed a highly individual course of NPS, with most presenting as a single episode or relapsing; a stable course was less common, especially in LBD. These findings demonstrate the importance of an individualised approach (i.e. personalised medicine) in dementia care.


Endocrine ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 280-291
Author(s):  
Alfredo Campennì ◽  
Daniele Barbaro ◽  
Marco Guzzo ◽  
Francesca Capoccetti ◽  
Luca Giovanella

Abstract Purpose The standard of care for differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) includes surgery, risk-adapted postoperative radioiodine therapy (RaIT), individualized thyroid hormone therapy, and follow-up for detection of patients with persistent or recurrent disease. In 2019, the nine Martinique Principles for managing thyroid cancer were developed by the American Thyroid Association, European Association of Nuclear Medicine, Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, and European Thyroid Association. In this review, we present our clinical practice recommendations with regard to implementing these principles in the diagnosis, treatment, and long-term follow-up of patients with DTC. Methods A multidisciplinary panel of five thyroid cancer experts addressed the implementation of the Martinique Principles in routine clinical practice based on clinical experience and evidence from the literature. Results We provide a suggested approach for the assessment and diagnosis of DTC in routine clinical practice, including the use of neck ultrasound, measurement of serum thyroid-stimulating hormone and calcitonin, fine-needle aspiration, cytology, and molecular imaging. Recommendations for the use of surgery (lobectomy vs. total thyroidectomy) and postoperative RaIT are also provided. Long-term follow-up with neck ultrasound and measurement of serum anti-thyroglobulin antibody and basal/stimulated thyroglobulin is standard, with 123/131I radioiodine diagnostic whole-body scans and 18F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography suggested in selected patients. Management of metastatic DTC should involve a multidisciplinary team. Conclusions In routine clinical practice, the Martinique Principles should be implemented in order to optimize clinical management/outcomes of patients with DTC.


2009 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Innes ◽  
Leon Levin ◽  
Mark Cotton

Lipodystrophy Syndrome (LD) is common in HIV-infected children, particularly in those taking Didanosine, Stavudine, or Zidovudine. Lipoatrophy in particular causes major stigmatization and interferes with adherence. In addition, LD may have significant long-term health consequences, particularly cardiovascular. Since the stigmatizing fat distribution changes of LD are largely permanent, the focus of management remains on early detection and arresting progression. Practical guidelines for surveillance and avoidance of LD in routine clinical practice are presented. Diagnosis of LD is described and therapeutic options are reviewed. The most important therapeutic intervention is to switch the most likely offending antiretroviral to a non-LD-inducing agent as soon as LD is recognised. Typically, where lipoatrophy or lipohypertrophy is diagnosed, the thymidine nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) is switched to a non-thymidine agent such as Abacavir (or Tenofovir in adults). Where dyslipidaemia is predominant, a dietician review is helpful, and the clinician may consider switching to a protease inhibitor (PI)-sparing regimen or to Atazanavir.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holger Sudhoff ◽  
Hans Björn Gehl ◽  
Ercan Boga ◽  
Stefan Müller ◽  
Katharina Wilms ◽  
...  

Background: The insertion of the stapes piston into the vestibule provides the physical basis for a successful stapedotomy. In routine clinical practice, two different ways to handle prosthesis length are performed: (1) an individualized measurement of the stapes prosthesis length or (2) a standard prosthesis length for all cases. Objective: The objective of this study was to compare both ways of handling prosthesis length and the effect of these methods on insertional prosthesis depth. Material and Method: We retrospectively evaluated 39 patients after performing a stapedotomy for radiologically estimated vestibular stapes prosthesis insertion depth. The individual measured length data were hypothetically changed to a standard length of 4.75, 5, 5.25, and 5.5 mm, and the insertion depths were compared. Results: The individually measured prosthesis lengths led to an insertion depth between 0.2 and 1.6 mm (mean 0.74 mm). The ratio of insertion depth/vestibular depth was between 8 and 59.1% (mean 26.6%). The different assumed standard lengths led to different rates of the vestibulum positions and possible bony contacts at the vestibulum floor. Conclusion: The individual measurement led to a zero rate of the vestibulum positions of stapes prosthesis pistons with a low insertion depth/vestibular depth ratio.


2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Hayward ◽  
Rebecca Edgecumbe ◽  
Anna-Marie Jones ◽  
Clio Berry ◽  
Clara Strauss

Background: Hearing voices can be a common and distressing experience. Psychological treatment in the form of cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis (CBTp) is effective, but is rarely available to patients. The barriers to increasing access include a lack of time for clinicians to deliver therapy. Emerging evidence suggests that CBTp delivered in brief forms can be effective and offer one solution to increasing access. Aims: We adapted an existing form of CBTp, coping strategy enhancement (CSE), to focus specifically on distressing voices in a brief format. This intervention was evaluated within an uncontrolled study conducted in routine clinical practice. Method: This was a service evaluation comparing pre–post outcomes in patients who had completed CSE over four sessions within a specialist out-patient service within NHS Mental Health Services. The primary outcome was the distress scale of the Psychotic Symptoms Rating Scale – Auditory Hallucinations (PSYRATS-AH). Results: Data were available from 101 patients who had completed therapy. A reduction approaching clinical importance was found on the PSYRATS distress scale post-therapy when compared with the baseline. Conclusions: The findings from this study suggest that CSE, as a focused and brief form of CBTp, can be effective in the treatment of distressing voices within routine clinical practice. Within the context of the limitations of this study, brief CSE may best be viewed as the beginning of a therapeutic conversation and a low-intensity intervention in a stepped approach to the treatment of distressing voices.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. e0160761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Costarelli ◽  
Alessandro Cozzi-Lepri ◽  
Giuseppe Lapadula ◽  
Stefano Bonora ◽  
Giordano Madeddu ◽  
...  

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. e347
Author(s):  
I. Orlova ◽  
I. Patrusheva ◽  
I. Barinova ◽  
Z. Blankova ◽  
F. Ageev

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 5042-5042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celestia S. Higano ◽  
Shawn H. Zimberg ◽  
Sabina Dizdarevic ◽  
Lauren Christine Harshman ◽  
John Logue ◽  
...  

5042 Background: Ra-223, a targeted alpha therapy, prolonged survival with good safety in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) in the phase 3 ALSYMPCA trial. REASSURE will evaluate Ra-223 short- and long-term safety in routine clinical practice settings. This is the first planned interim analysis (median 7 mo observation). Methods: This global, prospective, single-arm, observational study enrolled pts with mCRPC with bone metastases (mets) for whom Ra-223 therapy was planned. Follow-up will continue up to 7 years after last Ra-223 dose. Results: 1106 pts (437 N. America, 665 Europe, 4 not recorded) enrolled from 2 Sep 2014 to 22 Sep 2016. Baseline data are available from 583 pts receiving 1st- (1L), 2nd- (2L), or ≥3rd-line (≥3L) Ra-223 for mCRPC(Table). The majority of pts (n=369, 63%) completed 5–6 doses (1L, 70%; 2L, 64%; ≥3L, 49%); median 6 doses (1L,6; 2L, 6; ≥3L, 4). Treatment-emergent drug-related AEs occurred in 215 pts (37%). Post-treatment grade 3/4 thrombocytopenia occurred in 14 pts (2.4%) and anemia in 45 (7.7%). Conclusions: In routine clinical practice, Ra-223 was associated with no short-term safety concerns and appeared to be used in pts with less advanced mCRPC than in ALSYMPCA. The majority of pts on 1L/2L Ra-223 therapy received 5–6 doses. Ra-223 was often used with abiraterone or enzalutamide, but not chemotherapy. The next interim analysis in 2019 will report long-term safety and outcomes on all pts. Clinical trial information: NCT02141438. [Table: see text]


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (6_suppl) ◽  
pp. 32-32
Author(s):  
Celestia S. Higano ◽  
Fred Saad ◽  
A. Oliver Sartor ◽  
Kurt Miller ◽  
Peter Conti ◽  
...  

32 Background: Ra-223 is a targeted alpha therapy that showed a survival advantage and favorable safety profile in the phase 3 ALSYMPCA trial in pts with mCRPC. REASSURE (NCT02141438) is evaluating the long-term safety of Ra-223 in routine clinical practice in pts with mCRPC over a 7-year follow-up period. Methods: In this global, prospective, single-arm, observational study, the second prespecified interim analysis (data cut-off March 2019) evaluated safety and clinical outcomes of Ra-223 in pts with mCRPC. Primary outcome measures were incidence of second primary malignancies (SPM), bone marrow suppression and short- and long-term safety in pts who had ≥1 Ra-223 dose. Secondary outcomes included overall survival (OS). Results: For 1465 pts in the safety analysis, median follow up was 11.5 months. Median PSA (n=1053), ALP (n=1048), and LDH (n=555) levels at baseline were 59 ng/mL, 135 U/L, and 269 U/L, respectively. 81% of pts had bone metastases only at baseline; 19% of pts had other metastatic sites, mostly in the lymph nodes. 19% of pts had <6 metastatic sites, 47% had 6–20 sites, 20% had >20 lesions but not a superscan, and 6% had a superscan. 45%, 38%, 37%, 9%, and 8% of pts received prior abiraterone, docetaxel, enzalutamide, cabazitaxel, or sipuleucel-T as prior therapies, respectively. Median number of Ra-223 doses received was 6; 67% of pts had ≥5 doses. SPM occurred in 1% of pts. The most common treatment-emergent drug-related adverse event (AE) of any grade was diarrhea (11%). 10% of pts had a bone-associated event, 5% had fractures, and 15% had a hematological AE. Median OS was 15.6 months (95% CI 14.6–16.5). Conclusions: In REASSURE, there was a low incidence of SPM, bone fractures, and bone marrow suppression after Ra-223 treatment, with no new AEs identified. This study confirms that in routine clinical practice, Ra-223 AE rates were low, and pts generally received ≥5 doses. Clinical trial information: NCT02141438. [Table: see text]


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