ninjaNIRS: an open hardware solution for wearable whole-head high-density functional near-infrared spectroscopy.

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) technology has been steadily advancing since the first measurements of human brain activity over 30 years ago. Initially, efforts were focused on increasing the channel count of fNIRS systems and then to moving from sparse to high density arrays of sources and detectors, enhancing spatial resolution through overlapping measurements. Over the last ten years, there have been rapid developments in wearable fNIRS systems that place the light sources and detectors on the head as opposed to the original approach of using fiber optics to deliver the light between the hardware and the head.

The occurrence of delirium diagnosis among youth hospitalizations in the United States: A Kids' Inpatient Database analysis.

Objectives: Delirium is an acute neuropsychiatric condition associated with increased morbidity and mortality. There is increasing recognition of delirium as a substantial health burden in younger patients, although few studies have characterized its occurrence. This study analyzes the occurrence of delirium diagnosis, its comorbidities, and cost among youth hospitalized in the United States.

Literature review: Substance use screening and co-morbidity in medically hospitalized youth.

Objectives: Pediatric and young adult patients frequently present to medical inpatient (MIP) units for treatment of substance use disorder (SUD). Given the risk of lifelong dependence and related complications in early life substance use (SU), a review of the literature is warranted.

Methods: We conducted a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) systematic review of literature published through April, 62,020, which examined incidence, screening, and complications of pediatric and young adult SU in the MIP setting.

Providing Inpatient Medical Care to Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder, affecting an estimated 1 in 40 children. Children with ASD have high rates of medical comorbidity and often experience high levels of distress during medical admissions, increasing the risk of agitation. Pediatric hospitalists receive minimal formal training on the inpatient care of children with ASD.

Pediatric Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry: An Update and Review.

Background: In recent years, there has been an increasing burden of child and adolescent mental illness recognized in the United States, and the need for pediatric mental health care is growing. Pediatric consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatrists are increasingly playing a role in the management of medical and psychiatric disease for pediatric patients. The field is a fast-moving one, with understanding of new neuropsychiatric disease entities; reformulation of prior disease entities; and new interdisciplinary treatments and models of care.

Agitation in Patients With Autism Spectrum Disorder Admitted to Inpatient Pediatric Medical Units.

Objectives: Our goals for this study were to characterize the frequency of agitation in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) admitted to an inpatient pediatric medical unit and to identify risk factors associated with agitation.

Methods: Through a retrospective chart review, we identified every patient between 8 and 19 years of age with a documented ASD diagnosis admitted to a pediatric medical unit over a 5-year period. We performed a detailed review of each admission, with a focus on factors hypothesized to be correlated with risk of agitation.

Challenges in the Medical Care of Patients With Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Role of the Consultation-Liaison Psychiatrist.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that affects one in 40 children. Individuals with ASD have high rates of medical comorbidity, excess mortality, high health care expenditures, and difficulty accessing coordinated medical care. As the prevalence of ASD rises, consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatrists will be increasingly called upon to assist patients with ASD both in inpatient and outpatient medical settings.

Beyond the brain: A multi-system inflammatory subtype of autism spectrum disorder.

An immune-mediated subtype of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has long been hypothesized. This article reviews evidence from family history studies of autoimmunity, immunogenetics, maternal immune activation, neuroinflammation, and systemic inflammation, which suggests immune dysfunction in ASD. Individuals with ASD have higher rates of co-morbid medical illness than the general population.

Pediatric Catatonia: A Case Series-Based Review of Presentation, Evaluation, and Management.

Background: Pediatric catatonia is believed to be a rare condition, but challenges in recognition and variability in presentation may lead to underdiagnosis. Early identification and effective treatment of pediatric catatonia is critical given the significant morbidity and mortality associated with the condition. Given the widespread shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists, at times consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatrists without child training may be the frontline specialty providers asked to guide treatment of these pediatric patients.

Sensory symptoms in autism spectrum disorders.

The aim of this review is to summarize the recent literature regarding abnormalities in sensory functioning in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including evidence regarding the neurobiological basis of these symptoms, their clinical correlates, and their treatment. Abnormalities in responses to sensory stimuli are highly prevalent in individuals with ASD. The underlying neurobiology of these symptoms is unclear, but several theories have been proposed linking possible etiologies of sensory dysfunction with known abnormalities in brain structure and function that are associated with ASD.

Patient- and practice-related determinants of emergency department length of stay for patients with psychiatric illness.

Study Objective: To identify patient and clinical management factors related to emergency department (ED) length of stay for psychiatric patients.

Methods: This was a prospective study of 1,092 adults treated at one of 5 EDs between June 2008 and May 2009. Regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with ED length of stay and its 4 subcomponents.

Hospital variability in emergency department length of stay for adult patients receiving psychiatric consultation: a prospective study.

Study Objective: We ascertain the components of emergency department (ED) length of stay for adult patients receiving psychiatric evaluation and to examine their variability across 5 hospitals within a health care system.

Methods: This was a prospective study of 1,092 adults treated between June 2008 and May 2009. Research staff abstracted length of stay and clinical information from the medical records.

Case series: Sensory intolerance as a primary symptom of pediatric OCD.

Introduction: Marked intolerance or intrusive re-experiencing of ordinary sensory stimuli that in turn drive functionally impairing compulsive behaviors are occasionally seen in young children with OCD.

Methods: We describe a number of children with DSM-IV OCD ascertained from a family genetic study of pediatric OCD, whose intolerance of ordinary sensory stimuli created significant subjective distress and time-consuming ritualistic behavior that was clinically impairing.

Results: In each case, these sensory symptoms were the primary presenting symptoms and were experienced in the absence of intrusive thoughts, images, or ideas associated with "conventional" OCD symptoms.

Psychosocial issues in adolescents with cancer.

Cancer in adolescents is uncommon and when it occurs raises a number of unique challenges for both the patient and their families. Adolescence is a period of time of significant physical and emotional changes and a diagnosis of cancer during this time has a major impact on their psychological and physical development. In this review we will look at the psychosocial issues facing adolescents who have cancer.

Successful treatment with duloxetine in a case of treatment refractory bulimia nervosa: a case report.

The authors report a case of treatment refractory bulimia nervosa successfully treated with duloxetine, a combined serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, with complete remission of the patient's bingeing and purging behaviours. This case is discussed in the context of existing literature on the psychopharmacology of bulimia nervosa.

The nature of speech production impairments in anterior aphasics: an acoustic analysis of voicing in fricative consonants.

This study investigated the acoustic characteristics of voicing in English fricative consonants produced by anterior aphasics and the effects of phonetic context on these characteristics. Three patients produced voiced and voiceless fricative-vowel syllables in isolation, following a voiced velar stop, and following a voiceless velar stop. Acoustic analyses were conducted of the amplitude and patterning of glottal excitation, as well as fricative noise duration.