Cariprazine and clozapine combination for the treatment of psychosis in a young, female patient with schizophrenia: a case report.

The task of a psychiatrist is to select the most appropriate medication or combination of drugs to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia while minimizing the risk of side effects and ensuring the patient achieves the highest level of functioning possible. This is a challenging task as the action of each drug or group of drugs is different. The efficacy of cariprazine, which affects D3 receptors as a D3/D2 receptor partial agonist, has been extensively studied and is one of the first medication choices by practicing psychiatrists when treating patients with negative symptomatology.

The potential of psychiatric outpatient centers to reduce the length of stay in inpatient facilities and the negative impact of COVID-19 on the availability of psychiatric services: the case of Latvia.

The move from psychiatric hospitals to community-based care is the goal of policies in many countries. Latvia has attempted to reach this goal by establishing two outpatient centers in Riga. Since 2005, when the first outpatient centers opened, the ability of day clinics to reduce the total length of stay for hospital inpatients has been observed, although using the outpatient centers did not affect the number of patients treated.

Exploring the Mediating Role of Parental Anxiety in the Link between Children's Mental Health and Glycemic Control in Type 1 Diabetes.

Pediatric diabetes type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D), as a chronic, incurable disease, is associated with psychoemotional and socioeconomic burden for the whole family. Disease outcomes are determined by the metabolic compensation of diabetes, characterized by the level of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). The caregivers play a critical role in the metabolic control of children with T1D.

Challenges facing mental health systems arising from the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from 14 European and North American countries.

We assessed challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic presented for mental health systems and the responses to these challenges in 14 countries in Europe and North America. Experts from each country filled out a structured questionnaire with closed- and open-ended questions between January and June 2021. We conducted thematic analysis to investigate the qualitative responses to open-ended questions, and we summarized the responses to closed-ended survey items on changes in telemental health policies and regulations.

Depression and brain fog as long-COVID mental health consequences: Difficult, complex and partially successful treatment of a 72-year-old patient-A case report.

SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection can result in long-term health consequences i.e., long COVID.

Clinical decision-making style preferences of European psychiatrists: Results from the Ambassadors survey in 38 countries.

Background: While shared clinical decision-making (SDM) is the preferred approach to decision-making in mental health care, its implementation in everyday clinical practice is still insufficient. The European Psychiatric Association undertook a study aiming to gather data on the clinical decision-making style preferences of psychiatrists working in Europe.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional online survey involving a sample of 751 psychiatrists and psychiatry specialist trainees from 38 European countries in 2021, using the Clinical Decision-Making Style - Staff questionnaire and a set of questions regarding clinicians' expertise, training, and practice.

Case Report: Severe Side Effects Following Treatment With First Generation Antipsychotics While Cariprazine Leads to Full Recovery.

Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder characterized by positive, negative, cognitive and affective symptoms. Patient cooperation with health care professionals, compliance with the treatment regime, and regular use of medications are some of the preconditions that need to be met for a favorable disease course. A negative experience following the use of a first-generation antipsychotic to treat first-episode psychosis can negatively affect a patient's motivation for further medication use.

Changes in national rates of psychiatric beds and incarceration in Central Eastern Europe and Central Asia from 1990-2019: A retrospective database analysis.

Background: Numbers of psychiatric beds (general, forensic, and residential) and prison populations have been considered to be indicators of institutionalisation of people with mental illnesses. The present study aimed to assess changes of those indicators across Central Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA) over the last three decades to capture how care has developed during that historical period.

Methods: We retrospectively obtained data on numbers of psychiatric beds and prison populations from 30 countries in CEECA between 1990 and 2019.

Hyponatremia caused by water intoxication: successful treatment of psychiatric disturbances with olanzapine and fluoxetine.

Hyponatremia is a frequent, yet often unrecognized result of water intoxication caused by psychogenic polydipsia in patients with psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and anorexia nervosa. The consequences of hyponatremia may include cerebral edema with tonic-clonic seizures and, in extreme cases, death. In cases of hyponatremia seen in psychiatric practices, the use of psychotropic drugs is often necessary to address both the underlying psychiatric problem and reduce the hyponatremia.

The assessment of factors associated with patient satisfaction in evaluation of mental health care center.

Aims: The study was conducted to explore patient satisfaction and to identify factors associated with patient satisfaction with the care in psychiatric wards using Psychiatric Inpatient Patient Experience Questionnaire On-Site (PIPEQ-OS) self-assessment tool. Such studies to detect factors associated with patient satisfaction in mental health care have not yet been conducted in Latvia.

Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted over 6-month period in 2018.

Provision of community-based mental health care, Latvia.

Problem: In Latvia, the move towards community-based mental health-care services has been slow.

Approach: The hospital managers of the only psychiatric hospital in Riga decided to establish two community-based clinics that were financially and administratively integrated with the hospital. The clinics were established using a step-wise approach by redistributing resources, including psychiatrists, nurses and beds, from the hospital to the new clinics.

Comparison of psychotropic medication use in the Baltic countries.

While the pivotal role of pharmacotherapy in psychiatry is universal, significant regional differences exist in drug use patterns. Herewith we compare the use of ATC psychotropic drugs (N05, psycholeptics and N06A, antidepressants) in 2010-2015 in the three Baltic Countries with reference to the Nordic Countries. Data were obtained from the national authorities on medicines as expressed in DDD per 1000 inhabitants per day.

Improving quality of psychiatric care in Latvia by measuring patient experiences.

In Latvia, as in many former Soviet Union countries, there used to be little priority given to systematic assessments of the quality of psychiatric care. Furthermore, using the experiences of patients as a measure of quality was unthinkable because psychiatric patients were seen as incapable of assessing quality of psychiatric services. Over the past few years, and facilitated by Latvia's progress along the route of Western democracy and participation in international organizations (EU, OECD), as well as funding support from the EU, several policy documents have been developed with the aim of improving healthcare quality.

Latvia: Health system review.

This analysis of the Latvian health system reviews recent developments in organization and governance, health financing, health care provision, health reforms and health-system performance. Latvia has been constantly reforming its health system for over two decades. After independence in 1991, Latvia initially moved to create a social health insurance type system.

Changes in the provision of institutionalized mental health care in post-communist countries.

Background: General psychiatric and forensic psychiatric beds, supported housing and the prison population have been suggested as indicators of institutionalized mental health care. According to the Penrose hypothesis, decreasing psychiatric bed numbers may lead to increasing prison populations. The study aimed to assess indicators of institutionalized mental health care in post-communist countries during the two decades following the political change, and to explore whether the data are consistent with the Penrose hypothesis in that historical context.