Assessing predictors of adequate individual buprenorphine maintenance dosage for the treatment of opioid use disorder: Listening to the patient.

Objective: Dose optimization plays a key role in determining clinical outcomes in patients on opioid agonist treatment (OAT). The objective of this study was to identify the variables independently associated with buprenorphine/naloxone (B/N) dose adequacy in patients with opiate use disorder (OUD).

Method: Cross-sectional study of a convenience sample of patients with OUD treated with B/N (n = 315) in four regions in Spain.

Nerve Injury Triggers Time-dependent Activation of the Locus Coeruleus, Influencing Spontaneous Pain-like Behavior in Rats.

Background: Dynamic changes in neuronal activity and in noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC) projections have been proposed during the transition from acute to chronic pain. Thus, the authors explored the cellular cFos activity of the LC and its projections in conjunction with spontaneous pain-like behavior in neuropathic rats.

Methods: Tyrosine hydroxylase:Cre and wild-type Long-Evans rats, males and females, were subjected to chronic constriction injury (CCI) for 2 (short-term, CCI-ST) or 30 days (long-term, CCI-LT), evaluating cFos and Fluoro-Gold expression in the LC, and its projections to the spinal cord (SC) and rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC).

Influence of time to clozapine prescription on the clinical outcome.

Background: This study investigates whether early clozapine use is associated with improved responses in different clinical domains, including positive and negative symptoms, functioning, and well-being.

Methods: Data from 254 clozapine-treated patients at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) were analysed. Among them, 231 (90.

Shared decision making with schizophrenic patients: a randomized controlled clinical trial with booster sessions (DECIDE Study).

Background: The treatment of schizophrenia requires a prolonged, multidimensional intervention that includes antipsychotic drugs. Treatment adherence is essential to effectively control the disorder. Shared decision-making (SDM) is a strategy, supported by numerous practical and ethical arguments, that seeks to involve patients in the therapeutic process to improve treatment adherence and satisfaction.

Multivariate Base Rates of Low Score on Neuropsychological Tests of Individuals with Coca Paste Use Disorder.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of low scores on eight commonly used neuropsychological tests to evaluate learning and memory, language, and executive functions in individuals with coca paste use disorders (CPUD) and to identify the differences with respect to a group of healthy nonconsuming subjects (HCs).

Methods: 162 Colombian adults with CPUD and a group of 162 Colombian adult HCs participated in this comparative study. Eight tests (eighteen test scores) were grouped into three categories: learning and memory, language, and executive functions.

Cocaine Effect Expectancies among Patients with Cocaine Use Disorder with and without Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Are There Any Relevant Differences?

Cocaine use could be modulated by drug expectancies based on previously experienced subjective effects. Some patients perceive a paradoxical calming effect after cocaine use. This study was performed to explore cocaine effect expectancies in patients diagnosed with cocaine use disorder, with and without co-occurring adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Evidence of validity and reliability of the Spanish version of the “Observable Social Cognition: A Rating Scale” (OSCARS) in patients with schizophrenia.

Social Cognition (SC) impairment is part of the deficit syndrome of schizophrenia. The Observable Social Cognition: A Rating Scale (OSCARS) evaluates the perceived SC through an external reference informant. The aim of this paper is to analyze the psychometric properties of validity and reliability of its cross-cultural adaptation for the Spanish population.

In-Treatment Changes in Quality of Life-Related Variables in Therapeutic Communities for Cocaine Abusers: Are These Changes Associated with Clinical Outcomes?

Background: Few studies have explored changes in quality of life during the first three months of admission to a therapeutic community for addictions. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between these changes and treatment outcomes at discharge.

Methods: We undertook a prospective longitudinal study of 142 cocaine-dependent patients treated at a therapeutics community.

Factors associated with the use of mechanical restraint in a mental health hospitalization unit: 8-year retrospective analysis.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THE TOPIC?: Our present understanding of mechanical restraint is heterogenous, largely due to the important differences between countries/regions. In Spain, the use of this restrictive practice is not regulated, nor is its use protocolized. Previous studies that have investigated the impact of organizational factors and changes in these protocols are often short and not conducted within a framework designed to establish a long-term plan for reducing the use of mechanical restraint.

Satisfaction with antipsychotics as a medication: the role of therapeutic alliance and patient-perceived participation in decision making in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify independent predictors of satisfaction with antipsychotics in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders treated in a mental health catchment area.

Methods: Observational analytical study of patients ( = 150) recruited through a convenience sampling method from five mental health units. Satisfaction with the antipsychotic as a medication was evaluated using the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM).

Towards a common metric for assessing heroin-dependent patient satisfaction with medications: Testing methadone and buprenorphine-naloxone.

Background: Patient satisfaction with methadone or buprenorphine-naloxone can be multidimensionally and specifically assessed by using, respectively, the Scale to Assess Satisfaction with Medications for Addiction Treatment-Methadone for Heroin addiction (SASMAT-METHER) or the SASMAT-Buprenorphine-Naloxone for Heroin addiction (SASMAT-BUNHER). The factor structures of the SASMAT-METHER and SASMAT-BUNHER show substantial commonalities. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the replicability of the SASMAT-METHER factor structure using data from the SASMAT-BUNHER development study in order to obtain an instrument that can be used to compare patient satisfaction with methadone vs.

Cocaine and depressive disorders: When standard clinical diagnosis is insufficient.

Background: Cocaine use is a growing global health problem and patients with cocaine use disorders (CUD) present several complications, including high rates of major depression. These subjects present two types of major depressive disorder (MDD): primary major depressive disorder (P-MDD) and cocaine-induced major depressive disorder (CI-MDD). To improve treatment, it is necessary to distinguish between both types.

Predictive Outcome Validity of (GHQ-28) in Substance Abuse Patients Treated in Therapeutic Communities.

The use of psychoactive substances has been one of the most important global public health problems over the last few decades. Among the problems associated with substance use, dual diagnosis is one of the most relevant. This study aims to investigate the predictive validity of the GHQ-28 (General Health Questionnaire-28; "probable psychiatric cases") in relation to poor treatment outcome measured by (a) "early treatment dropout" and (b) "nonclinically relevant improvement at discharge.

Monoaminergic system and depression.

Major depressive disorder is a severe, disabling disorder that affects around 4.7% of the population worldwide. Based on the monoaminergic hypothesis of depression, monoamine reuptake inhibitors have been developed as antidepressants and nowadays, they are used widely in clinical practice.

Development and validation of the scale to assess satisfaction with medications for addiction treatment - Buprenorphine-naloxone for heroin addiction (SASMAT-BUNHER).

Background: Until now, no specific tool has been available to measure heroin-dependent patient satisfaction with buprenorphine-naloxone as a medication. The purpose of the present study was to develop the Scale to Assess Satisfaction with Medications for Addiction Treatment-Buprenorphine-Naloxone for Heroin addiction (SASMAT-BUNHER) and to examine its validity and reliability.

Methods: The SASMAT-BUNHER was developed from a pool of 44 self-administered items grouped into nine theoretical domains, as follows: Overall Satisfaction, Pharmacotherapy, Initiation, Anti-Addictive Effect on Heroin, Mental State, Physical State, Personal Functioning, Acceptability, and Anti-Addictive Effect on Secondary Substances.

Patient perceived participation in decision making on their antipsychotic treatment: Evidence of validity and reliability of the COMRADE scale in a sample of schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Objective: The aim of this paper is to provide evidence of the validity and reliability of the COMRADE scale (Combined Outcome Measure for Risk communication And treatment Decision making Effectiveness) in patients suffering from schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Method: 150 patients recruited at five mental health centers were assessed using a cross-sectional study design. The COMRADE, WAIS-S (therapeutic alliance) and TSQM (satisfaction with medication) scales were used.

Evidence of validity and reliability of the Opiate Dosage Adequacy Scale (ODAS) in a sample of heroin addicted patients in buprenorphine/naloxone maintenance treatment.

Objective: The Opiate Dosage Adequacy Scale (ODAS) is a clinical tool to individually measure the "adequacy" of opioid doses in patients on maintenance treatment. The aim of this paper is to provide evidence for the validity and reliability of the ODAS in a sample of patients in buprenorphine/naloxone (B/N) maintenance treatment.

Method: Cross-sectional study of a convenience sample of B/N-treated patients (n = 316) from four Autonomous Communities in Spain.

Association between executive function and outcome measure of treatment in therapeutic community among cocaine dependent individuals.

The aim of this study was to examine the association between baseline executive functioning and outcome measure of treatment in 226 cocaine dependent individuals who initiated treatment in therapeutic communities TCs. The study was conducted across six TCs located in the region of Andalusia (southern Spain). Neuropsychological testing included tests of working memory, reasoning, inhibition, switching, attention interference and decision making.

Patient perception of methadone dose adequacy in methadone maintenance treatment: The role of perceived participation in dosage decisions.

Objective: In clinical practice, methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) entails tailoring the methadone dose to the patient's specific needs, thereby individualizing treatment. The aim of this study was to identify the independent factors that may significantly explain methadone dose adequacy from the patient's perspective.

Method: Secondary analysis of data collected in a treatment satisfaction survey carried out among a representative sample of MMT patients (n=122) from the region of La Rioja (Spain).

Can symptoms help in differential diagnosis between substance-induced vs independent psychosis in adults with a lifetime diagnosis of cocaine use disorder?

The main goal of this study it is explore the psychopathological differences between IPD and SIPD in a sample of 125 adults with a lifetime diagnosis of cocaine disorder recruited from treatment setting and through street contacts. A secondary analysis of six cross-sectional studies was conducted between 2000 and 2010. SIPD and IPD were diagnosed using the Psychiatric Research Interview for Substance and Mental Disorders (PRISM).

Validity evidence, sensibility and specificity of the severity dimension of the SDSS alcohol dependence scale.

Objective: Therapeutic success in the treatment of alcohol use disorders highly depends on an appropriate diagnosis. The Substance Dependence Severity Scale –SDSS- is a scale that assesses substance dependence in dimensional terms and that follows the diagnostic criteria established by the international classification systems. The aim of this study is to provide validity evidence for the severity dimension of the alcohol dependence scale of the SDSS comparing it with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview –MINI-, and others variables related to substance use included in the EuropASI.