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Comparison of characteristics of treated and non-treated patients with Hepatitis C infection.

OBJECTIVES: This study compares the characteristics of treated and non-treated patients with Hepatitis C (HCV) infection. METHODS: Information on patient demographics, clinical data, and treatment regimens were collected from a retrospective medical record review of 998 patients diagnosed with HCV, representing a diverse geographic sample of 200 U.S. physicians including 130 gastroenterologists, 50 infectious disease physicians, and 20 hepatologists. A total of 551 patients were randomly selected and 447 were provided as an augmented sample in an intent-to-treat analysis based on treatment decisions. Pretreatment factors examined included age, gender, race, weight, HCV genotype, HCV viral load, serum ALT levels, liver biopsy results, cirrhosis, HIV co-infection, HBV co-infection, IV drug use, and insurance status. Univariate analyses were performed using Chi-squared or ANOVA tests. Factors that were significant in univariate analyses were entered into a multivariate logistic regression model with HCV treatment as the outcome variable. RESULTS: Of the 998 patients reviewed, 778 were treated for HCV and 220 were not treated. In univariate analyses, non-treated patients were more likely to be African American, HBV co-infected, HIV co-infected, IDUs, alcoholics, Medicaid insured, and were less likely to have had biopsies. The multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that performance of a liver biopsy, treatment with psychiatric medications (antidepressants and anxiolytics), and patient weight were independently associated with treatment, while Medicaid insurance and HIV co-infection were independently associated with a decreased likelihood of receiving HCV therapy. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that it is not the clinical stage of HCV infection but the patient's demographic characteristics and co-morbid conditions that impact the decision to initiate HCV therapy.

Adult↗

Splenorenal shunt: an ideal procedure in the Pacific.

HYPOTHESIS: Splenorenal shunt, an accepted treatment to prevent recurrent variceal bleeding, is an ideal procedure for patients with psychosocial issues or limited access to tertiary medical centers. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 34 patients (32 distal splenorenal shunts and 2 central splenorenal shunts) treated from January 1, 1995, through December 31, 2001, for demographic data, substance abuse status, psychosocial factors, previous treatments, Child class, length of hospital stay, operative transfusions, complications, and outcome. RESULTS: Of the 34 patients, 17 were from surrounding Pacific islands (as many as 3800 miles away from Honolulu, Hawaii). Sixteen patients were Child class A, and 18 were Child class B. Twenty-four patients were either homeless, actively involved in substance abuse, or being treated for psychiatric problems, and 20 patients were either uninsured or insured by third-party payers that did not cover liver transplantation. Four patients underwent distal splenorenal shunt for a failed transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt. Patients received a mean of 1.3 U of packed red blood cells (range, 0-5 U), and 15 received no blood transfusions. Mean length of hospital stay was 12.7 days (9 days postoperatively). Perioperative mortality was 8.8%. Three patients rebled postoperatively, 2 because of gastric ulcers and 1 because of an inadequate shunt. The 1-year survival rate was 95% in the 20 patients for whom data were available. CONCLUSIONS: Splenorenal shunt is an important treatment for noncompliant patients or patients living in remote areas where access to specialized treatments, such as endoscopy, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, ultrasonography, and liver transplantation, is limited. We can achieve acceptable morbidity and mortality in this group of patients, although follow-up can be difficult.

Esophageal and Gastric Varices↗

Inpatient and partial hospital treatment for adolescent eating disorders.

The eating disorders are complex illnesses that tend to have a chronic relapsing course with severe morbidity and high mortality rates. Outcome seems to be best when the disorders are recognized early, brought to treatment quickly, the family is involved, and the first episode of care results in full return and maintenance of weight and menstruation. Adolescents who reach the point of needing hospitalization should be treated aggressively. In this article the authors have tried to outline some key treatment principles not just for the hospital stay, but elements that should be carried throughout the entire program of recovery for adolescents with eating disorders: from medical evaluation, through inpatient stay, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient program, and follow-up outpatient therapy. Recent reductions in insurance authorizations and decreased lengths of stay in the psychiatric hospital make the already difficult challenge of recovery from AN and BN even more daunting. Despite these difficulties, we are still able to get a high proportion of youths better and eventually fully recovered.

Adolescent↗

Posttraumatic stress disorder and physical comorbidity among female children and adolescents: results from service-use data.

OBJECTIVE: In adults, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with adverse health outcomes and high medical utilization and cost. PTSD is twice as common in women and is associated with increased risk for a range of diseases, chronic conditions, and reproductive-health problems. Little is known about the health effects of PTSD in children. The purpose of this study was to explore patterns of physical comorbidity in female children and adolescents with PTSD by using population data. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional, descriptive epidemiologic case-control analysis of a Midwestern state's Medicaid eligibility and paid-claims data for girls (0-8 years old) and teens (9-17 years old). Data were from 1994-1997. All those with the PTSD diagnostic code were compared with randomly selected controls in relation to 3 sets of outcomes: (1) International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) categories of disease; (2) chronic conditions previously associated with sexual trauma and PTSD in women; and (3) reproductive-health problems. Analyses included bivariate odds ratios (OR) and logistic-regression models that control for the extent of insurance coverage and the independent associations of victimization and psychiatric comorbidity with the 3 sets of outcomes. The mental health covariate was categorical to allow consideration of a range of severity. There were 4 categories for the young girls: neither PTSD nor depression, PTSD without depression, depression without PTSD, and PTSD + depression. For the adolescent analysis, a fifth category reflecting a "complex PTSD" was added, defined as having PTSD complicated by a dissociative disorder or borderline personality disorder diagnosis. RESULTS: There were 647 girls and 1025 adolescents with the PTSD diagnosis. Overall, PTSD was associated with adverse health outcomes in both age strata. Victimization was sometimes independently associated with adverse health outcomes, but PTSD often was a mediator, especially in the adolescent age stratum. The importance of PTSD diagnosis as a predictor of the ICD-9 categories of disease or chronic conditions seemed to increase with age. In the younger age stratum, the increased bivariate ORs of significant associations with PTSD ranged from 1.4 for digestive disorders to 3.4 for circulatory disorders. Among younger girls, PTSD diagnosis was associated with significantly greater bivariate odds for 9 of the 12 ICD-9 categories of disease but not for neoplasms, blood disorders, or respiratory disorders and with threefold increased odds for chronic fatigue. They also had 1.8 times greater odds for sexually transmitted infections, some of which could be from congenital transmission in this age group, which includes infants. In the multivariate models for the young girls, the mental health variable seemed to mediate the relationship between victimization and increased odds of infectious and parasitic diseases, endocrine/metabolic/immune disorders, circulatory diseases, skin and cutaneous tissue disorders, and having any 1 of the 5 chronic conditions. The mental health categories that were significantly associated with health outcomes varied across the conditions. There were no health outcomes in which the depression-without-PTSD category was the only one significantly associated with the outcome condition. Circulatory and musculoskeletal disorders were significantly associated with all 3 of the mental health categories. Having any 1 of the 5 chronic conditions was significantly associated only with simple PTSD (PTSD without depression). Genitourinary disorders and signs/symptoms/ill-defined conditions were significantly associated with both simple and comorbid PTSD. PTSD with comorbid depression, the most severe of the mental health categories in this younger age group, was the only category associated with the endocrine/metabolic/immune disorders and skin disorders outcomes. In the adolescent age stratum, the bivariate ORs significantly associated with PTSD ranged from 2.1 for blood disorders to 5.2 for irritable bowel syndrome. Adolescents with PTSD were nearly twice as likely to have a sexually transmitted infection and 60% more likely to have cervical dysplasia. However, their rate of pregnancy was lower (23% vs 31%), a one-fourth decreased odds. In the adolescent group, only 4 outcomes (nervous system/sense organ, digestive, and genitourinary disorders and signs/symptoms/ill-defined conditions) remained statistically significantly associated with victimization after the mental health variable was added, suggesting an additive model of risk for these outcomes but a mediating role for PTSD in relation to the majority of the health outcomes. Among the adolescent girls, the range of ORs for the ICD-9 and chronic-condition diagnoses generally increased across the categories of the mental health variable in a dose-response pattern. Compared with adolescents with neither PTSD nor depression, those with PTSD without depression had statistically significant ORs from 1.5 to 3.6. Those with depression without PTSD had statistically significant ORs from 1.9 to 4.4. The significant ORs for those with PTSD comorbid with depression were from 2.3 to 6.6, and those in the complex-PTSD category had significant ORs of between 2.5 and 14.9. Only blood disorders seemed to be more strongly associated with depression alone than with the comorbid and complex forms of PTSD. The simple-PTSD category was not significantly associated with blood disorders, chronic pelvic pain, fibromyalgia, or dysmenorrhea. Depression without PTSD was not significantly associated with chronic pelvic pain or fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia was only significantly associated with complex PTSD. CONCLUSIONS: In young girls who receive Medicaid benefits, PTSD was associated with increased odds of a range of adverse health conditions. The pattern and odds of physical comorbidity among adolescent recipients with PTSD was nearly as extensive as that seen in adult women. Overall, the pattern observed suggests that objective disease states (eg, circulatory problems, infections) may be associated with PTSD to an extent nearly as great as that of PTSD with more subjective somatic experience of loss of wellness. Using the concepts of allostatic load and allostatic support, professionals who work with children and adolescents may be able to decrease the toll that traumatic stress takes on health even if available interventions can only be thought of as supportive and fall short of completely preventing trauma exposure or completely healing posttraumatic stress. Clinical research to extend these exploratory findings is warranted.

Adolescent↗

[Social psychiatric service as a cornerstone of psychiatric community care].

Psychiatric care has gradually been shifting in Germany from its original inpatient basis to outpatient and complementary treatment. This shift of emphasis resulted in a transfer of psychiatry-political responsibility to communal bodies and hence also to communal public health services. Sociopsychiatric service ranks high in communal psychiatric care setups, since it promotes cooperation and helps to coordinate efforts in individual cases in respect of focal points on which such care is centered. For the future, an expert commission has suggested that the various institutions actively engaged in community psychiatric care should team up in each region. This applies in particular to mobile services visiting the patients in their homes, and to the offices providing contracts to sociopsychiatric services of public health offices. Despite positive outlooks there are also quite a few negative aspects of present-day practice. One of them is poor definition of tasks and functions of communal sociopsychiatric services, whereas another one are the unsatisfactory quantitative and qualitative means at their disposal. It is also too often overlooked that psychiatric patients and disabled persons are entitled to compensation insurance payments to promote their rehabilitation, as provided for by individual legislation in the various German laender. To tap these sources sufficiently well, sociopsychiatric services must be better equipped in every respect. The professional competence of social workers and physicians, as well as of the relevant staff, must be safeguarded by continuing education and specialist training measures.

Community Mental Health Services↗

Urban homelessness and poverty during economic prosperity and welfare reform: changes in self-reported comorbidities, insurance, and sources for usual care, 1995-1997.

Little is known of how homeless and other urban poor populations have fared during the robust economy and within structural changes in health care delivery and entitlement programs of the 1990s. This is important in determining the need for population-specific services during a vigorous economy with low unemployment and increasing Medicaid managed-care penetration. This study compared health insurance status and availability of a source for usual medical care, psychiatric and substance abuse comorbidities, and perceived causes of homelessness in homeless adults surveyed in 1995 and 1997. Cross-sectional, community-based surveys were conducted in 1995 and 1997 at sites frequented by urban homeless adults residing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Self-reported medical, mental health, and substance abuse comorbidities, health insurance, and source for usual care were measured. Compared to the 388 individuals surveyed in 1995, the 267 homeless adults surveyed in 1997 had more medical comorbidity (56.6% vs. 30.2%, P <.001) and mental health comorbidity (44.9% vs. 36.9%, P =.04) and required more chronic medication (52.1% vs. 30.3%, P <.001). More respondents in 1997 than 1995 reported having no health insurance (41.4% vs. 29.4%, P <.001). While there was no difference in the overall proportion reporting a source for usual care (78.3% in 1997 vs. 80.2% in 1995, P =.55), fewer persons reported use of the emergency department and more persons reported using a shelterbased clinic for usual care in 1997 compared with 1995. These findings suggest more need for medical care among homeless and urban poor persons in 1997 compared with 1995 and support the continued need for outreach and support services despite a vigorous economy.

Adolescent↗

Sick-leave in women with alcohol dependence or abuse: effects of additional psychiatric disorders.

The study objective was to assess sick-leave among women investigated in a general population survey of alcohol dependence/abuse (ADA). A total of 399 women, selected by stratified random sampling, were interviewed and diagnosed according to DSM-III-R. Data on sick-leave were obtained by linkage with the Social Insurance records. The study found that women with ADA but without other psychiatric disorders had an increased number of annual sick-leave spells--1.82 compared with 1.47 in the reference population-whereas the mean duration was similar. Women with ADA and other psychiatric disorders had 2.38 annual spells, but also considerably longer spells (mean 16.54 days vs 9.70). Socio-economic differences were large, with the less privileged groups having both more and longer spells. Stepwise multiple regression showed that both ADA and other psychiatric disorders contributed to high sick-leave incidence and duration, as, to a lesser extent, did low education and low social group (the last variable only affected duration of the spells). The frequency of disability pension/long sickness spells was higher in women with ADA (odds ratio of 2.95). We concluded that there is a strong association between ADA and sick-leave, which increases considerably in the presence of additional psychiatric disorders.

Adult↗

Longitudinal statistics of mental health care in Germany.

In 1975, an expert committee was commissioned by the government to evaluate psychiatric care in the Federal Republic of Germany. The results of this study showed that Germany lacked the infrastructure to provide appropriate care for the mentally ill. Since then, measures have been taken to improve in-patient, out-patient and non-hospital care. However, in spite of these efforts, problems still exist. A closer analysis revealed that, though state mental hospitals have consolidated their position in in-patient care, there are still few psychiatric departments in general hospitals. Also, there are extreme regional differences regarding non-hospital care as seen by the varying number of long-term inpatients in each region. Out-patient care, especially for the chronically mentally ill, is also widely criticized. However, the biggest problem remains that of financing psychiatric care. Because most mentally ill persons are not properly insured and depend on social welfare, the burden falls on the government. In addition to this, efforts to modernize the antiquated mental health care system in the former East Germany are especially costly. In the future, a larger part of the available resources will go to providing community-based care in East Germany, which was nonexistent before unification.

Ambulatory Care↗

Privacy in psychiatric treatment: threats and responses.

OBJECTIVE: The author provides an overview of the current status of privacy in psychiatric treatment, with particular attention to the effects of new federal regulations authorized by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). METHOD: The author reviews the ethical and legal underpinnings for medical privacy, including the empirical data supporting its importance; discusses those portions of the new federal regulations most relevant to psychiatric practice; and suggests steps that psychiatrists can take to maintain their patients' privacy in the new environment. RESULTS: Medical ethics and law, in keeping with patients' preferences, traditionally have provided strong protection for the information that patients communicate while receiving medical care. In general, release of information has required patients' explicit consent. However, limitations of the consent model and technological innovations that permit the aggregation of computerized medical information have led to pressure for greater access to these data. Although the new federal regulations offer patients some additional protections (including security for psychotherapy notes), they also mark a retreat from reliance on patient consent and open up records to previously unauthorized uses, among them law enforcement investigations and marketing and fundraising by health care organizations. However, states retain the power to provide higher levels of protection. CONCLUSIONS: The new regulatory environment is less friendly to medical privacy but still leaves a great deal of discretion in physicians' hands. A commitment to protecting privacy as an ethical norm can be advanced by psychiatrists' requesting patients' consent even when it is not required, by ensuring that patients are aware of the limits on confidentiality, and by avoiding unnecessary breaches of privacy in the course of providing psychiatric care.

Confidentiality↗

Factors influencing length of inpatient stay for depressed adolescents in a psychiatric hospital.

The author applied a twelve-item checklist of criteria for hospitalization to determine the impact of each on length of stay for a group of depressed adolescents admitted to two units of a private child and adolescent psychiatric hospital. Attempts were made to control for the influence of insurance status on time spent in the hospital. Active suicidal preoccupation without active preparation or attempt was the only item found to have significant impact on length of stay.

Adolescent↗

Setting up a fee for service program for psychiatric liaison nurses.

In the current health care climate, hospitals are under great pressure to find creative ways of preserving and generating revenue. As a result, all positions are routinely scrutinized for their value to the institution. Nurses have always been regarded as a major drain on the hospital's pocketbook, rather than as a revenue-generating resource. Because of their unique roles, liaison nurses provide many patient services which are third-party reimbursable. Practical guidelines for setting up a fee for service program are outlined together with the possible negative and positive repercussions of such a program. Enhanced job security and professional self-esteem may be offset by resistance from other disciplines and the possibility of a reduction in the volume of referrals. Although nurses who bill may face opposition from some groups, the ability to generate revenue is an important feature of this nursing role and is viewed as a strong asset by the institution.

Accounting↗

Sickness absence with psychiatric disorders--an increased risk for marginalisation among men?

BACKGROUND: Sickness absence with psychiatric disorders is a major public health problem with serious consequences for the individual, the employer and society. The aim was to assess the occurrence of psychiatric sickness absence with special focus on sex differences. METHODS: A nationwide sickness insurance register was used. Population at risk was defined as all individuals entitled to sickness benefits in 1994 (N = 1,978,030). Those who were sick-listed for more than 14 consecutive days with a psychiatric diagnosis (n = 28,799) were selected as cases. RESULTS: Of the population under study, 1.46% had at least one psychiatric sickness absence episode. Women had twice the male cumulative incidence of sickness absence for a psychiatric diagnosis. Cumulative incidence was highest among those aged 45-59 years. Men had more sickness absence days. Depression was the most common diagnosis among both women and men. CONCLUSION: Increased efforts are needed to recognise, treat and rehabilitate individuals with a lowered work capacity due to sickness absence. The increased risk of long sick-leave spells among men needs further attention.

Adolescent↗

Restraint use for psychiatric patients in the pediatric emergency department.

BACKGROUND: Restraint of children and adolescents with psychiatric problems has generated controversy. Restraint may be defined as methods used to restrict movement or normal access to one's body. Published data to guide restraint practice are limited. OBJECTIVE: To examine frequency of restraint use and patient demographics and chief complaints associated with restraint use in our pediatric emergency department. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the pediatric emergency department records of children (age <18 years) who underwent emergency psychiatric evaluation in an urban general hospital from January 2001 to December 2002. Factors associated with restraint use were determined using multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Data were available for 1125 (82%) of 1371 patients who underwent emergency psychiatric evaluation; 76 (6.8%) of 1125 patients were restrained: 37 physical, 19 with medication, and 20 both. Study patients were mean age 13.1 years, 50% girls, 54% blacks, 19% Latinos, and 18% whites; 80% had public insurance. Boys were restrained more often than girls (8.7% vs. 5.2%, P = 0.02). Age, insurance, and race were not associated with restraint use. Patients admitted for inpatient psychiatric care were restrained more frequently than those discharged home (9.9% vs. 3.9%, P < 0.001). In multivariate logistic regression, sex was not associated with restraint use. Restraint use was associated with chief complaints of visual hallucinations (odds ratio, 5.29), out-of-control behavior (odds ratio, 4.65), hyperactivity (odds ratio, 2.26), and admission to a psychiatric facility (odds ratio, 2.40). CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 1 in 15 children undergoing psychiatric evaluation were restrained. This is the first study to elucidate correlates of restraint practice in the pediatric emergency department. Further studies examining indications for restraint and comparing methods of restraint are needed.

Adolescent↗

Diagnosis of late life depression: the view from primary care.

In the typical primary care practice, in which patients with a wide range of diseases and symptoms present with numerous needs, concerns, and requests, a chronic disease that lacks quantitative, biologically based diagnostic testing, such as depression, can present a daunting diagnostic challenge to even the best and most dedicated primary care physician. Depression does not compete well for patient and physician time and energy with other medical problems and medical co-morbidity in patients who seek care from their primary care physician. Primary care patients may be more comfortable with and accepting of depression being framed as a "normal" chronic disease rather than a psychiatric "brain" disease subject to cultural and generational stigmas, nihilism, and prejudice. Insurance parity in mental health care would make depression and other mental illness more legitimate in the eyes of patients, family members, employers, and physicians. Of particular value would be new and creative approaches to collaborative care, including telephone monitoring, nurse clinician outreach, and improved availability of psychiatric consultation in primary care, because elderly depressed patients often see the care of their depression as part of the integrated care of multiple chronic medical diseases, rather than a separate psychiatric problem to be referred for specialty care.

Aged↗