Annals of Clinical Psychiatry最新文献

Background: Catatonia due to a general medical condition may result from a variety of causes, including substance intoxication and withdrawal. Stimulants are occasionally associated with catatonia, though there has been little investigation of methamphetamine's relationship to catatonia. Here we present 5 cases of catatonia associated with methamphetamine use and a systematic review of the associated literature from 1943 to 2020.

Methods: We performed a systematic review of the literature and present 5 cases of catatonia evaluated using the Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale and KANNER catatonia rating scale.

Results: Methamphetamine use was associated with catatonia in a small number of cases in the literature. However, some of these reports included other possible etiologies. The patients in our case series met DSM-5 criteria for catatonia due to a general medical condition, with all reporting recent methamphetamine use and testing positive for amphetamines on urine drug screen.

Conclusions: Given the ongoing rise in methamphetamine use in the United States, it is important that clinicians understand that methamphetamine use can be associated with catatonia. Patients with methamphetamine-associated catatonia may respond favorably to lorazepam and require shorter hospital stays than other catatonic patients. Lastly, methamphetamine-associated catatonia highlights how alteration in dopamine function and projections may be a critical neural mechanism underlying catatonia in general.

Background: Most studies of depression treatment rely on measures of symptom severity to evaluate outcome. We hypothesized that many patients would consider themselves to have benefitted significantly from treatment despite not being considered a responder according to a measure of depression symptom severity (ie, 50% reduction in symptom score).

Methods: In our study, 854 patients with major depressive disorder completed the Remission from Depression Questionnaire, a self-report measure that assesses several constructs patients consider to be relevant for assessing treatment outcome. At discharge, patients completed the Patient Global Rating of Improvement (PGI) to gauge effectiveness of treatment.

Results: Less than 40% of patients were responders on the depressive symptom subscale, whereas two-thirds of the sample were PGI responders. Among patients who were PGI responders but nonresponders on the depression symptoms scale, more than one-half were responders on at least 1 of 4 nonsymptom domains (functioning, quality of life, coping ability, positive mental health).

Conclusions: A patient-centered approach to evaluating outcome goes beyond an assessment of symptoms. When viewed from a broader perspective, the results of our study suggest that patients with depression benefit more from treatment than is suggested by only examining outcome from a symptom-based perspective.

Background: Sexual and/or gender minority (SGM) individuals experience higher rates and greater severity of depressive disorders than non-SGM persons. SGM individuals are more likely than non-SGM individuals to seek mental health treatment and to present to treatment with unique characteristics that should be accounted for when considering treatment recommendations. Patients seeking care for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) are offered a variety of evidence-based interventions ranging in modality and invasiveness (eg, psychotherapy and neuromodulation).

Methods: The current study used data from a TRD clinical research program to examine whether SGM (N = 52) and non-SGM (N = 202) patients differed in their clinical presentations and the treatment recommendations offered to them.

Results: We found that SGM patients were younger, had a more severe history of childhood trauma, and reported greater current suicidality than non-SGM patients. There were no significant differences in treatment recommendations between groups.

Conclusions: This study adds to nascent literature investigating clinical characteristics of SGM populations seeking mental health care and provides foundational evidence for the unique treatment considerations necessary for SGM individuals seeking treatment for TRD. Research into whether treatment outcomes differ for SGM and non-SGM individuals with TRD is encouraged, given clinical differences in trauma history and suicidality.

Background: Bipolar depression is a serious neuropsychiatric disorder associated with a high risk of morbidity and suicidality. Standard antidepressants approved for treating major depressive disorder fail to exert efficacy in bipolar depression. Although 5 agents have been developed for the treatment of bipolar depression, treatment resistance is still observed in some patients, and requires off-label pharmacotherapy. Modafinil and armodafinil have been reported to improve treatment-resistant bipolar depression, but with inconsistent results.

Methods: We present a case of a 65-year-old woman with severe bipolar depression who failed to respond to electroconvulsive therapy and IV ketamine but later responded to high-dose armodafanil.

Results: The patient responded to high-dose armodafinil (gradually titrated to 1,000 mg/d) and achieved remission with good tolerability for 5 years. Recently, she contracted COVID-19 and developed muscular weakness. After a lengthy workup, we became concerned for myopathy as an adverse effect from armodafinil. The patient's dose of armodafinil was significantly reduced and she subsequently became very depressed and functionally disabled before improving again when armodafinil 1,000 mg/d was reinstated.

Conclusions: We propose that some of the negative results seen in research of armodafinil for bipolar depression may be due to the use of low doses (100 to 200 mg/d), and higher doses may be needed for adequate response in treatment-resistant bipolar depression.

Background: After disasters, mental health professionals might be called upon to help address the emotional consequences of the disaster among survivors and other affected groups, but the clinicians themselves could be affected. This exploratory study examined the experiences of 60 mental health professionals, most of whom provided mental health care to individuals affected by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks (9/11), and/or experienced 9/11 sequelae themselves.

Methods: Participants completed structured interviews 3 and/or 6 years after the disaster, with full diagnostic assessment of psychiatric disorders and questions specific to their personal and professional post-9/11 experience.

Results: Providing postdisaster care was somewhat stressful initially, but long-term effects were more positive than negative, with overall benefit to many personal lives. Most found their clients' 9/11 stories emotionally upsetting, yet characterized their 9/11 mental health work as positive. Work satisfaction increased by 3-fold, but this effect was transitory. One-third had postdisaster psychopathology, but most was pre-existing and therefore not a product of disaster-related stressors.

Conclusions: Although most mental health professionals initially found the emotional difficulty of their work increased after 9/11, this negative effect had largely dissipated over the years. Opportunities for disaster mental health training and initial logistical support could benefit these professionals.

Background: Women with psychiatric disorders are vulnerable to relapse in pregnancy, and the COVID-19 pandemic has presented an additional stressor.

Methods: Data came from a supplemental study offered to women enrolled in the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Women's Mental Health National Pregnancy Registry for Psychiatric Medications. Registry participants were also invited to complete an email questionnaire relating to their experiences of pregnancy during the pandemic. Prepartum experiences of 230 respondents were analyzed.

Results: The most common diagnoses in this group were depression (30%), anxiety disorders (29%), and bipolar affective disorder (17%). Common stressors included changes in employment, greater childcare and/or schooling responsibilities, more conflict in the household, and increased isolation. Participants reported negative impacts and/or coping mechanisms associated with the pandemic, such as sleep problems, reduced physical activity, changes in eating, and greater amounts of screen time. Positive impacts and/or coping mechanisms were also reported, including more quality time with family, more time in nature, and being more appreciative of aspects of life previously taken for granted.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an overall negative psychosocial impact on many pregnant women with preexisting psychiatric disorders. We also observed positive coping mechanisms, which could be drawn on as sources of resilience.