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Biomedical subjects

D R DeMaso

Publications and source records attributed to D R DeMaso.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Physical and sexual abuse histories among children with borderline personality disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to determine whether a history of physical or sexual abuse is more common in children with borderline personality disorder than in other children evaluated in the same outpatient psychiatric clinic. METHOD: The authors contrasted rates of abuse in 44 children diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and in 100 comparison children. RESULTS: The borderline personality disorder group had a significantly greater prevalence of physical and combined physical/sexual abuse. Sexual abuse rates alone did not differ significantly between groups. CONCLUSIONS: The finding of greater abuse in the group with borderline personality disorder supports the hypothesis that a history of trauma is associated with the disorder.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

The impact of maternal perceptions and medical severity on the adjustment of children with congenital heart disease.

Hypothesized that maternal perceptions would be more significant predictors of emotional adjustment than medical severity. Mothers of 99 children, between the ages 4-10 years, completed the Child Behavior Checklist, Parenting Stress Index, Parental Locus of Control Scale, and a measure of perception of medical severity. Assessed medical severity by number of hospitalizations, operations, catheterizations, hospital days, outpatient visits, and a cardiologist's rating of illness severity. Maternal perceptions were potent predictors of emotional adjustment. Approximately 33% of the variability in adjustment was accounted for by maternal perceptions, while the medical severity accounted for less than 3% of the variability. Severity of illness appears less critical to successful adaptation than the quality of the mother-child relationship.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1990

Depression in a pediatric intensive care unit nursing staff.

This study compared the depressive symptoms of 36 ICU nurses to 23 non-ICU nurses. The study was conducted in a pediatric setting where critically ill children may present unique demands. The ICU nursing staff had a significantly higher frequency (28%) of symptoms consistent with a depressive disorder than either the age group norm (12%) or the non-ICU nurses (13%). This finding suggests a continued need for investigation into the stresses associated with the delivery of critical care.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Psychological functioning in children with cyanotic heart defects.

The relationship between congenital heart disease (CHD) and psychological functioning was studied in 63 children with transposition of the great arteries (TGA) and 77 children with tetralogy of Fallot (TF). These youngsters were compared with a group of 36 children originally diagnosed with CHD, but who spontaneously recovered (SR) without medical intervention. All children were under one year of age when diagnosed and were given psychological testing between 5.5 and 6.3 years. Children with TGA and TF had poorer overall psychological functioning and significantly greater central nervous system (CNS) impairment than the SR children. However when the effects of IQ and CNS impairment were controlled, there were no differences between groups. The diagnosis of a severe cyanotic heart defect does not appear to make a child more likely to have emotional disorder in the absence of other factors.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1990

Children's competence to consent to medical procedures.

Children's competence to consent to medical treatment is discussed in terms of basic principles of child development and central concepts in the consent process. Case examples are presented to highlight current problems relevant to children's consent in medical treatment which pediatricians are likely to encounter.

Child↗
PubMed1980

Grief-resolution therapy: reliving, revising, and revisiting.

Grief-resolution therapy is indicated for the treatment of unresolved grief reactions that have persisted beyond one year after the loss. The method employs present-time, guided imagery whereby the patient removes obstacles to grieving through reliving, revising and revisiting events of the loss. Initially, the full yearning for the attachment and the emotions associated with the loss are reawakened, then the patient is helped to detach by undoing binds with the deceased, and finally new choices which bridge the past to the future are reinforced.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Using process evaluation to describe a hospital-based clinic for children coping with medical stressors.

OBJECTIVE: To use process evaluation methods to describe the development of a hospital-based mental health clinic for children facing medical stressors. METHODS: Over a 21-month time period, we collected data regarding presenting concern, service use, and referral source using hospital administrative, clinic intake, and clinical records for 356 children. RESULTS: Nearly 90% of the children were referred to the clinic from sources within the hospital. With the exception of single session interventions, there were no differences in average length of services according to presenting concern. Hospital pediatric specialists and psychology consultants were the primary referrers to the program. Pediatric specialists referred more often for procedural concerns and chronic illness than other hospital referrers. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the feasibility and usefulness of a process evaluation approach in shaping clinical program directions, creating opportunities for collaboration with medical providers, and planning effectiveness research.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Adjunctive clonazepam treatment of tic symptoms in children with comorbid tic disorders and ADHD.

The treatment of seven children and adolescents with a tic disorder and concomitant attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is reviewed. Symptoms of ADHD were treated successfully with clonidine; however, patients experienced persistent tics. The patients were treated with the adjunctive use of clonazepam. The addition of clonazepam resulted in a further decrease in tic frequency and severity without affecting the coexisting ADHD symptoms. These cases suggest that clonazepam may be a useful adjunctive pharmacological intervention in treating tics in children with comorbid ADHD.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Psychological functioning in children and adolescents undergoing radiofrequency catheter ablation.

This study examined 38 patients (age 6-18 years) with recurrent cardiac arrhythmias who underwent radiofrequency catheter ablation of ectopic myocardial foci. Psychological functioning was assessed by the Pediatric Symptom Checklist, Short Mood and Feeling Questionnaire, Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale, and Arrhythmia Anxiety Queries prior to ablation and at 3-month follow-up. The patients resembled a normal population without elevations in anxiety or depression. After ablation, the patients showed reductions in the "fear of their heart problem" and increases in "the things that they enjoy." The patients who underwent a curative ablation had better functioning than those who did not show improvement. Children appear to have the opportunity for an improved quality of life after ablation.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Current perspectives on the pharmacotherapy of depressive disorders in children and adolescents.

Major depressive disorder occurs in approximately 2% of prepubertal children and 5% of adolescents. Studies investigating the pharmacotherapy of early-onset major depressive disorder in these young patients have been inconclusive. Early open trials and anecdotal experience suggested a beneficial role for antidepressant therapy. Double-blind placebo-controlled trials have failed to demonstrate the robust response seen in adults, but the studies have been small and concerns have been raised regarding methodology. Nevertheless, the significant morbidity associated with depressive disorders and the positive open trial experiences with antidepressants have led to the recommendation that antidepressants be used early in life when a patient presents with symptoms of a depressive disorder and has significant functional incapacity because of these symptoms. This article will review the studies of antidepressant efficacy in juvenile-onset major depressive disorder and then propose a pharmacotherapy model.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Impact of psychologic functioning, medical severity, and family functioning in pediatric heart transplantation.

BACKGROUND AND METHODS: This study examined (1) the psychologic functioning of children and adolescents before and after heart transplantation and (2) whether pretransplantation psychologic functioning, posttransplantation medical severity, and family functioning were related to the patients' posttransplantation psychologic functioning. The subjects were 23 patients, ages 3 to 20 years, who underwent heart transplant and survived at least 1 year after their transplantation. Psychologic functioning was assessed by the Children's Global Assessment Scale before and after heart transplantation. Medical severity was assessed by number of outpatient visits, hospitalizations, biopsies, and the Side Effect Severity Scale. Family functioning was rated on the Global Assessment of Family Relational Functioning Scale. RESULTS: The majority of the patients (78.3%) had good psychologic functioning after their heart transplantation. Patients with psychologic difficulties before and after transplantation had more hospitalizations after transplantation. CONCLUSIONS: Pretransplantation emotional functioning and family functioning were more correlated with posttransplantation psychologic functioning than medical side effect severity.

Adaptation, Psychological↗