Compulsory Interventions in Severe and Persistent Mental Illness: A Survey on Attitudes Among Psychiatrists in Switzerland

Background: Some psychiatric patients develop severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI), which, for a variety of reasons, can be therapy-refractory. Sometimes, treatment is not considered helpful by the patients themselves and does not improve their subjective quality of life. Furthermore, many SPMI patients experience compulsory interventions such as seclusion, restraint, or treatment against their will, which can cause harm.Methods: In a cross-sectional survey of 1,311 German-speaking psychiatrists in Switzerland, participants were asked about the care of SPMI patients in general, and about their attitudes with regard to compulsory interventions in particular, using three case vignettes of patients with severe and persistent anorexia nervosa, schizophrenia and depression.Results: Out of 1,311 contacted psychiatrists, 457 (34.9%) returned the completed survey. In general, 91.0% found it important or very important to respect SPMI patients' autonomy in decision making. However, based on three different clinical case vignettes, 36.8% of psychiatrists would act against the wishes of the patient with severe and persistent schizophrenia, 34.1% against the wishes of the patient with severe and persistent depression, and 21.1% against the wishes of the patient with severe and persistent anorexia nervosa, although all patients were stated to have preserved decision-making capacity. With regard to the case vignettes, 41.1% considered compulsory interventions leading to a temporary reduction of quality of life acceptable in the patient with severe and persistent schizophrenia, 39.4% in the patient with severe and persistent depression, and 25.6% in the patient with severe and persistent anorexia nervosa, although it was stated in all three case vignettes that two independent experts ascribed the patients decision-making capacity regarding their illness and further treatment.Conclusions: Many psychiatrists in our sample found themselves in an ethical dilemma between autonomy and the provision of medical care. While most respondents respect the autonomy of SPMI patients, many saw the need to perform compulsory interventions even though it was clearly and prominently stated that two independent psychiatrists had ascribed the patients in the case vignettes decision-making capacity. Further examination of these conflicting views is warranted, perhaps along with the development of guidelines for such situations.

Attenuated sensory precision and contextual prediction error in persistent depression

Chronic and recurrent forms of clinical depression can persist for a lifetime and often respond poorly to intervention. Psychological formulations implicate rigid, negative expectations of self and world which are resistant to updating with new information, a phenomenology consistent with a Bayesian account of brain function. Bayesian predictive processing models suggest that sensory data which is represented with low precision (high uncertainty) in the brain cannot exert much influence on existing beliefs, giving rise to the hypothesis that persistent forms of depression may be characterised by disturbances in sensory precision optimization. We optimized a computational model with data from a cross-modal (visual, auditory, somatic) covert attention task to estimate sensory precision in persistently depressed participants relative to healthy controls. Results suggested that both sensory precision and the salience of attentional targets were attenuated in depressed participants across sensory modalities, contributing to a suppression of contextual prediction error in this group. These outcomes provide support for a novel theoretical account of depression chronicity and suggest avenues for enhancing the effectiveness of psychological interventions for this population.

Amplified salience of somatic information in persistent depression

Disrupted bodily awareness may reflect mechanisms which drive both symptomatology and disorder maintenance in clinical depression. We investigated attentional capture by somatic signals in clinically depressed individuals and healthy controls as one aspect of bodily awareness. Attentional performance in a cross-modal covert orienting task was globally disrupted when depressed participants attempted to ignore uninformative somatic cues, in a largely modality-specific manner. In a subsequent study employing a similar paradigm, attention was disproportionately captured in depressed participants by informative somatic cues, in a similarly modality-specific way. Taken together, the results suggest that the salience of somatic signals is amplified in clinical depression, and that attempts to ignore them may have a disruptive effect on attentional processing more generally in this population.

Aerobic exercise for adolescent outpatients with persistent major depression: Feasibility and acceptability of moderate to vigorous group exercise in a clinically referred sample

Aims: To assess feasibility and acceptability of exercise in clinically referred adolescents with major depression. Methods: Outpatients12 to 17 years with mild to moderate persistent depression participated in a supervised, pulse monitored, 14-week aerobic exercise but without control group. Primary outcome was adherence and secondary was clinician-rated Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology – Adolescent (QIDS-A17-C), aerobic capacity, functioning, and well-being. Results: Twenty-one (66%) of 32 eligible adolescents with major depression with disease duration 2.4 (1.1–5.3) years and comorbid ADHD (71%) and anxiety disorders (62%) consented. Estimated maximum heart rate above 70% was achieved for mean 31.6 minutes, indicating that the intensity and duration of the exercise intervention was well received. Fourteen patients (67%) participated throughout the program and attended a median of 29 (81%, range 20–35) supporting satisfaction with the intervention by most patients. QIDS-A17-C score decreased compared to baseline at 15 weeks ( p < .001) and further at 1 year ( p < .001). Aerobic capacity improved during the intervention but was not maintained, while functioning improved and after 1 year also well-being. Conclusion: This 14 week moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise intervention was feasible and well accepted by most adolescents with persistent depression and extensive comorbidities.

Reduced Social Connectedness and Compassion Toward Close Others in Patients With Chronic Depression Compared to a Non-clinical Sample

Reduced social functioning in depression has been explained by different factors. Reduced social connectedness and prosocial motivation may contribute to interpersonal difficulties, particularly in chronic depression. In the present study, we tested whether social connectedness and prosocial motivation are reduced in chronic depression. Forty-seven patients with persistent depression and 49 healthy controls matched for age and gender completed the Inclusion of the Other in the Self Scale (IOS), the Compassionate Love Scale (CLS), the Beck Depression Inventory-II, and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. A Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with IOS and CLS as dependent variables revealed a highly significant difference between both groups. The IOS and the CLS-subscale Close Others were lower in persistent depression, whereas there was no difference in the CLS-subscale Strangers/Humanity. IOS and CLS-Close Others showed significant negative correlations with depressive symptoms. Connectedness to family members as measured by the IOS was negatively correlated with childhood trauma in patients with chronic depression. The results indicate that compassion and perceived social connection are reduced in depressed patients toward close others, but not to others in general. Implications for the treatment of depression are discussed.

The effect of sertraline on depression and associations with persistent depression in survivors of HIV-related cryptococcal meningitis

Background: Depression is a risk factor for worse outcomes in persons living with HIV/AIDS and has a prevalence more than three times as high as in the general population. Despite this, there are few randomized studies of antidepressants in HIV-infected Africans. Methods: We enrolled 460 HIV-infected Africans with cryptococcal meningitis into a randomized clinical trial of adjunctive sertraline vs placebo (2015-2017). We defined depression using depression using a Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) score of >15, and severe depression as >26 at one and three months after meningitis diagnosis and initiation of treatment.We evaluated the relationship between sertraline and depression, as well as associations with persistent depression, at three months. Results: At one- and three-months post meningitis diagnosis, 62% (108/174) and 44% (74/169) of all subjects had depression (CES>15), respectively. At three months, sertraline-treated subjects had consistent risk for depression as placebo-treated subjects but were significantly less likely to have severe depression (CES>26) (OR 0.335; 95%CI, 0.130-0.865). Of those with depression at one month, sertraline-treated subjects were less likely than placebo-treated subjects to be depressed at three months (p=0.05). Sertraline was the only factor we found significant in predicting persistent depression at three months among those who had depression at one month. Conclusions: Depression is highly prevalent in HIV-infected persons who have survived cryptococcal meningitis. We found that sertraline is associated with a modest reduction in depression in those with depression at baseline and a significant decrease in severe depression.

The incidence, clinical significance of depression and its clinical course after a cardac device implantation in patients with severe heart failure

Aim To assess the incidence, clinical significance of depression and the impact of a cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) or cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillator (CRT-D) implantation on psychiatric status in patients with heart failure (HF). Methods The prospective, single-center study encompassed 575 consecutive HF patients implanted with a CRT-D or ICD. Finally, the study population consisted of 494 subjects (186 ICD and 308 CRT-D patients), as 81 patients taking antidepressants were excluded from the analysis. All patients underwent psychiatric examination at the time of implantation, and the assessment of psychiatric status was repeated after 3, 6, 12 and 24 months. The study population was divided into 4 groups: Group 1 encompassed 101 (20.4%) patients with persistent depression, Group 2 constituted of 95 (19.2%) patients with depression that developed after ICD/CRT-D implantation, whereas 43 (8.7%) patients with remission of depression comprised Group 3, and Group 4 encompassed 255 (51.6%) patients with never diagnosed depression. Data on long-term follow-up (median 34.1 months) were screened to identify patients who developed a composite endpoint defined as death or hospitalization for decompensated HF. Results The cumulative incidence of depression at the baseline assessment was 39.1%. Depression developed in 95 (27.1%) patients, whereas remission of depression was observed in 43 (29.9%) subjects after ICD/CRT-D implantation. ICD intervention (HR 3.3) and increase in NYHA class by at least one class (HR 2.6) were the independent risk factors for depression development, whereas mitral regurgitation reduction (HR 1.9), as well as improvement in NYHA class by at least one class (HR 2.4) were the independent predictors for depression remission. Patients with persistent depression (Group 1) and those with newly developed depression (Group 2) were at significantly higher risk of a composite endpoint compared to patients in Group 3 and Group 4 (Table 1). Conclusions Depression is a common comorbidity associated with HF, as it affects 4 of 10 HF patients. ICD intervention and HF worsening are the strongest predictors for depression development after ICD/CRT-D implantation. Depression is a strong, independent risk factor of poor outcomes in HF population. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None

Minocycline augmentation in older adults with persistent depression: an open label proof of concept study

ABSTRACTLess than 40% of depressed older adults treated with an antidepressant achieve remission. Incomplete response to treatment is common. Current augmentation strategies have limited efficacy, and many have side effects that restrict their utilization in older adults. We conducted the first open pilot trial of minocycline augmentation in older adults who had failed to achieve remission after adequate psychopharmacologic treatment. Subjects older than 55 years of age with major depression and failure to achieve substantial improvement of depressive symptoms after at least 6 weeks of antidepressant treatment were given augmentation with minocycline 100 mg twice daily over an 8-week period. At the end of 8 weeks of augmentation with minocycline, 31% (4/13) patients achieved remission. Remitters had higher baseline ratings of hopelessness and apathy. Minocycline was well tolerated with no reported adverse events or discontinuation due to intolerance. Larger placebo-controlled studies are needed to evaluate the effects of minocycline augmentation in older adults who had failed to achieve remission after adequate treatment with antidepressants.