The Australian evidence-based clinical practice guideline for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Objective: The objective of this article was to provide an overview of the development and recommendations from the Australian evidence-based clinical practice guideline for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The guideline aims to promote accurate and timely identification and diagnosis, and optimal and consistent treatment of ADHD.

Methods: Development integrated the best available evidence with multidisciplinary clinical expertise and the preferences of those with lived experience, underpinned by the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework.

Emergency department visits for psychiatric care during the first lockdown in Melbourne.

Objective: We investigated the nature of patients presenting to an emergency department (ED) during the first lockdown in Melbourne.

Method: This study compared adult patients in the North West Area Mental Health Service catchment area who presented to the local ED during the lockdown (16 March-12 May 2020) and the control (16 March-12 May 2019) periods.

Results: The control and lockdown periods included 321 and 332 patients, respectively.

A 6-month study on the pattern of emergency department presentations for schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders during COVID-19 lockdown.

This study investigated the characteristics of patients with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders presenting to emergency departments (ED) for psychiatric treatment during the first six months of the COVID-19 lockdown in Melbourne. This cross-sectional data-base study included adult patients in the North West Area Mental Health Service's catchment area who had visited two emergency departments (EDs) during the study period (March 16-September 16, 2020) and the control period (March 16-September 16, 2019). Compared to the control period (n = 467), the lockdown period (n = 451) had a 6.

COVID-19 and ECT - a Victorian perspective.

Objectives: (i) to describe the operational strategies implemented to practise electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) safely, and (ii) to explore the effect of the lockdown and operational strategies on the characteristics of patients who received ECT during the initial 6 months of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Methods: At first, the operational strategies that were implemented at the Broadmeadows ECT suite were summarised. Subsequently, the characteristics of patients who received ECT in the lockdown period (16 March-16 September 2020) and in the comparison period (16 March-16 September 2019) were compared.

Quality of written informed consent forms for electroconvulsive therapy in Australia: a comparative analysis.

Objectives: We compared the quality of the written informed consent forms for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in Australian jurisdictions.

Method: For this comparative audit-type study, a checklist was developed to compare informed consent forms from different jurisdictions. The main information sources for consent forms were government health department websites and Google.

COVID-19 and psychiatric admissions: An observational study of the first six months of lockdown in Melbourne.

Research on the effect of a prolonged lockdown on inpatient admissions is limited. In this background, this study was planned, and it included patients admitted to inpatient units of a large mental health network in Melbourne during the lockdown (March 16-September 16, 2020) and a similar time period in 2019. The results showed a 12% decrease in admissions.

A comparative study of access to inpatient psychiatric treatment in a public mental health service in Melbourne during COVID-19.

Introduction: Given the paucity of research on how COVID-19 pandemic-associated lockdowns have affected the access to inpatient treatment, the present study was carried out.

Aims: This study aims to describe (1) the characteristics of patients who accessed inpatient treatment, (2) the length of inpatient stay and readmissions, and (3) the quality and safety of care as indicated by the type of admission (voluntary/compulsory) and seclusion use during the lockdown period.

Materials And Methods: For this comparative database study conducted at North West Area Mental Health Service, the study group included patients who had an admission between March 16, 2020 (starting of social distancing measures in Victoria) and May 12, 2020 (when easing [Stage 1] of social restrictions started).

Short-term and 1-year outcome of patients' with borderline personality admitted to a short-term recovery-oriented residential service.

Objectives: Given the paucity of literature, this study investigated whether a prevention and recovery care (PARC) service supported recovery in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD).

Method: This retrospective study included patients with BPD who had their first (index) admission to North West PARC between 2011 and 2016. Patient medical records and the state-wide database were the sources of information.

When should we image our patients? Appropriate use of imaging in inpatient psychiatry.

Objective: Injudicious use of medical imaging may be associated with harm to patients and increased downstream healthcare costs. Guidance on the use of imaging in common psychiatric inpatient scenarios is inconsistent or absent. This paper explores three common clinical scenarios facing adult psychiatrists and provides guidance about the appropriate use of imaging.

Is There a Change in Electroconvulsive Therapy Practice Following the New Mental Health Act 2014 in Victoria?: A Study at a Metropolitan Mental Health Service.

Objectives: The main objective of our study was to examine whether there has been any change to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) practice since the new Mental Health Act 2014 (MHA) in a public metropolitan mental health service in Victoria.

Methods: This retrospective study examined any change in ECT rate following the new MHA. We compared sociodemographic, clinical, and ECT-related variables for patients treated before (July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2014) and after (1st July 2014 and the 30th June 2015) the new MHA.

Phenomenology of near-death experiences: a cross-cultural perspective.

Near-death experiences (NDEs) include a set of subjective experiences encountered by people who were close to death or were faced with life-threatening situations. Reports have suggested that the phenomenology of NDE might differ across cultures. This article is aimed at providing an updated phenomenological perspective by comparing NDEs in a cross-cultural context.

Subcortical functioning in obsessive-compulsive disorder: an exploratory EEG coherence study.

Background: Given the paucity of quantitative EEG studies using coherence measures to understand the electrophysiological functional integrity of sub-cortical structures in obsessive-compulsive disorder, the current study was carried out.

Methods: We obtained EEG coherence values for 20 adult OCD patients (10 males; 10 females) and 19 appropriately matched healthy controls across delta (0.5-3.