Initiative to improve handover notes in a tertiary psychiatric hospital.

Clinical handover is an important process in hospital settings, but it is often carried out inadequately, posing potentially serious consequences for the patients. This project aimed to increase the effectiveness of handover notes when patients were transferred between a general psychiatric ward and other wards in a tertiary psychiatric hospital. Effective handover notes in this project were defined to have the following five components: brief psychiatric history, reason for the patient to be transferred, significant risk issues, reason for psychotropic medication change and active medical issues.

Global Neuropsychopharmacological Prescription Trends in Adults with Schizophrenia, Clinical Correlates and Implications for Practice: A Scoping Review.

It is important to examine the psychotropic prescription practices in schizophrenia, as it can inform regarding changing treatment choices and related patient profiles. No recent reviews have evaluated the global neuropsychopharmacological prescription patterns in adults with schizophrenia. A systematic search of the literature published from 2002 to 2023 found 88 empirical papers pertinent to the utilization of psychotropic agents.

From Unipolar to Bipolar: The Diagnostic Evolution in an Elderly Man.

A pivotal concept in the field of mood disorders is the dichotomy between unipolar depression and bipolar disorder. Due to the unique treatment in older age bipolar disorder and the scarcity of research in this area, it is clinically important to raise the awareness of the diagnostic conversion of unipolar depression to bipolar disorder in the elderly population. We present a case of a 71-year-old Chinese man whose diagnosis was revised to bipolar disorder after 9 years of treatment for unipolar depression.

Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia, Clozapine Resistance, Genetic Associations, and Implications for Precision Psychiatry: A Scoping Review.

Treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) is often associated with severe burden of disease, poor quality of life and functional impairment. Clozapine is the gold standard for the treatment of TRS, although it is also known to cause significant side effects in some patients. In view of the burgeoning interest in the role of genetic factors in precision psychiatry, we conducted a scoping review to narratively summarize the current genetic factors associated with TRS, clozapine resistance and side effects to clozapine treatment.

Misdiagnosis of Psychosis and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in a Young Patient with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social interaction and the presence of restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior. Making a first diagnosis of ASD in adults has certain difficulties, including inaccurate recall of developmental history and overlapping behaviors with other psychiatric conditions. This case study presents a young man who was assessed to have no major mental illness during his first visit to emergency services in a psychiatric hospital.

Intellectual disability and COVID-19: A bibliometric review.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the vulnerabilities of certain groups of people have been highlighted, such as people with intellectual disability (ID). Although related research on ID has developed rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic, the quantitative analysis of those research results has not been systematically performed through bibliometric analysis. Bibliometric analysis is a useful and rigorous method to explore large volumes of research data, and it allows researchers to extract quantitative information on distribution by author, time, country, and journal.

Perceived knowledge of psychiatry and family medicine residents regarding medical management of schizophrenia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia: opportunities to refine the residency training.

Background: Psychiatry and Family Medicine residents frequently see patients with comorbid mental and physical disorders. Little is known about the difference in knowledge of Psychiatry residents and Family Medicine residents regarding management of common conditions they encounter. This study aimed to assess the knowledge of Psychiatry and Family Medicine residents regarding medical management of schizophrenia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia, as the findings could help to refine the training curriculum for residency training.

Preferences for methadone clinics among drug users in Vietnam: a comparison between public and private models.

Background: Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) has been proven to be effective in treating opioid dependence. In Vietnam, MMT services are provided primarily by public clinics, with only one private MMT clinic established in recent years. Assessing the preferences of patients for different MMT models is important in evaluating the feasibility of these models.

Making Sense of Negative Findings from Mobile Attention Bias Modification Interventions for Individuals with Addictive Disorders: Quantitative Feasibility Study.

Background: Advances in experimental psychology have led to a better understanding of unconscious, automatic processes that result in individuals relapsing into their substance-using habits. While some reviews have demonstrated the effectiveness of bias retraining of these unconscious biases, there have been other reviews that have highlighted that bias retraining is not always effective. Other studies have revealed there was no baseline biases among some participants.

Web-Based Cognitive Bias Modification Interventions for Psychiatric Disorders: Scoping Review.

Background: Cognitive biases refer to automatic attentional or interpretational tendencies, which result in individuals with addictive disorders to automatically attend to substance-related stimuli and those with anxiety disorders to attend to threatening stimuli. To date, several studies have examined the efficacy of cognitive bias modification, and meta-analytical studies have synthesized the evidence for overall efficacy. The clinical utility of cognitive bias modification interventions has previously been limited to the confines of a laboratory, but recent advances in Web technologies can change this.

A Smartphone Attention Bias App for Individuals With Addictive Disorders: Feasibility and Acceptability Study.

Background: Conventional psychology therapies are unable to address automatic biases that result in individuals relapsing into their substance use disorder. Advances in experimental psychology have led to a better understanding of attention and approach biases and methods to modify these biases. Several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of bias modification among clinical cohorts.

Validity and Utility of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Detecting Depression in Family Caregivers of Persons with Dementia.

Background/aims: The psychometric properties of Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) have never been substantively investigated in caregivers of persons with dementia (PwD). We evaluated the validity and reliability of CES-D for detecting caregiver depression in dementia, and assessed whether CES-D could provide added utility beyond Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI).

Method: Family caregivers of community-dwelling PwD (n = 394) completed self-administered questionnaires containing CES-D.

Depression among Patients with HIV/AIDS: Research Development and Effective Interventions (GAP).

Depression in people living with HIV (PLWH) has become an urgent issue and has attracted the attention of both physicians and epidemiologists. Currently, 39% of HIV patients are reported to suffer from depression. This population is more likely to experience worsening disease states and, thus, poorer health outcomes.

Incorporating Participatory Action Research in Attention Bias Modification Interventions for Addictive Disorders: Perspectives.

Participatory action research was introduced in the 1960s and early 1970s, but it has only been more widely adopted in the recent years. Such methodologies have since been applied to several web & mobile-based interventions in psychiatry. To date no prior review has scoped the extent of the application of such methodologies for web & mobile-based interventions in psychiatry.

A novel scoring system for conversion and complication in laparoscopic liver resection.

Background: Although laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) has been increasingly popular worldwide, there is lack of predictive model to evaluate the feasibility and safety of LLR. The aim of this study was to establish a scoring system for predicting the possibility of conversion and complication, which could facilitate the patient selection for clinicians and communication with patients and their relatives during the informed consent process.

Methods: Consecutively 696 patients between August 1998 and December 2016 underwent LLR were recruited.

A Smartphone Attention Bias Intervention for Individuals With Addictive Disorders: Protocol for a Feasibility Study.

Background: Substance use disorders are highly prevalent globally. Relapse rates following conventional psychological interventions for substance use disorders remain high. Recent reviews have highlighted attentional and approach or avoidance biases to be responsible for multiple relapses.

Gamified Cognitive Bias Modification Interventions for Psychiatric Disorders: Review.

Background: Automatic biases, such as attentional biases and avoidance and interpretative biases, have been purported to be responsible for several psychiatric disorders. Gamification has been considered for cognitive bias modification, mainly to address the core issues of diminishing motivation to train over time, as bias modification intervention tasks tend to be highly repetitive. While a prior review has suggested how gamification strategies could be applied to such tasks, there remains a lack of systematic evaluation of gamified cognitive bias modification interventions in the literature.

Gamified Cognitive Bias Interventions for Psychiatric Disorders: Protocol of a Systematic Review.

Background: Cognitive bias modification has been increasingly studied in the past decade with reviews reporting the effectiveness of bias modification. Advances in electronic health and mobile health technologies have transformed how conventional cognitive bias modification is delivered. To date, gamification technologies and serious games have been widely evaluated in health care, and prior studies have reported the use of gamification for cognitive bias modification.

Cognitive Biases in Cannabis, Opioid, and Stimulant Disorders: A Systematic Review.

Opiates, cannabis, and stimulants are highly abused and are prevalent disorders. Psychological interventions are crucial given that they help individuals maintain abstinence following a lapse or relapse into substance use. The dual-process theory has posited that while the repeated use of a substance leads to increased automatic processing and increased automatic tendencies to approach substance-specific cues, in addition to the inhibition of other normal cognitive processes.

Web-Based Cognitive Bias Intervention for Psychiatric Disorders: Protocol for a Systematic Review.

Background: Traditional psychological therapies focus mainly on modification of individuals' conscious decision-making process. Unconscious processes, such as cognitive biases, have been found accountable for various psychiatric psychopathologies, and advances in technologies have transformed how bias modification programs are being delivered.

Objective: The primary aim of this review is to synthesize evidence of Web-based cognitive bias modification intervention for bias reduction.

Mobile Phone Cognitive Bias Modification Research Platform for Substance Use Disorders: Protocol for a Feasibility Study.

Background: Cognitive biases refer to automatic attentional and interpretational tendencies, which could be retained by cognitive bias modification interventions. Cristea et al and Jones et al have published reviews (in 2016 and 2017 respectively) on the effectiveness of such interventions. The advancement of technologies such as electronic health (eHealth) and mobile health (mHealth) has led to them being harnessed for the delivery of cognitive bias modification.

A Systematic Review of Attention Biases in Opioid, Cannabis, Stimulant Use Disorders.

: Opiates, cannabis, and amphetamines are highly abused, and use of these substances are prevalent disorders. Psychological interventions are crucial given that they help individuals maintain abstinence following a lapse or relapse into substance use. Advances in experimental psychology have suggested that automatic attention biases might be responsible for relapse.

Attention and Cognitive Bias Modification Apps: Review of the Literature and of Commercially Available Apps.

Background: Automatic processes, such as attentional biases or interpretative biases, have been purported to be responsible for several psychiatric disorders. Recent reviews have highlighted that cognitive biases may be modifiable. Advances in eHealth and mHealth have been harnessed for the delivery of cognitive bias modification.

Attention Bias in Individuals with Addictive Disorders: Systematic Review Protocol.

Background: Globally, substance disorders, particularly that of opiate use, cannabis use, and stimulant use disorders, are highly prevalent. Psychological treatments are an integral aspect of intervention, but a proportion of individuals still relapse despite having received such an intervention. Recently, the dual-process theory proposed that the unconscious processes of attention biases are responsible for these relapses.