COVID-19-Related Fear and Health-Related Safety Behavior in Oncological Patients.

Objective: This study aimed to assess cancer patients' psychological burden during the COVID-19 pandemic by investigating distress (distress-thermometer), health status (EQ-5D-3L), general anxiety (GAD-7), COVID-19-related fear and associated behavioral changes and comparing these to matched healthy controls, using propensity score matching (PSM).

Methods: During the first days of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, March 16 to 30, 2020, 150 actually treated cancer patients and 150 matched healthy controls participated in this study. Participants completed an anonymous online survey assessing health status, distress, general anxiety, COVID-19-related fear and behavioral changes (i.

Web-based MINDfulness and Skills-based distress reduction in cancer (MINDS): study protocol for a multicentre observational healthcare study.

Introduction: Although a high percentage of patients with cancer experience severe psychological distress, few of them receive psycho-oncological care, largely due to barriers on the side of patients and healthcare providers that pose great challenges to delivering such care. In response, low-threshold, self-guided eHealth interventions can enable patients with cancer to deal independently and effectively with disease-related challenges and distress. Mindfulness and Skills-Based Distress Reduction in Oncology Training, nicknamed Make It Training, is one such innovative, self-guided eHealth intervention.

A Systematic Review of the Effect of Neurofeedback in Cancer Patients.

Introduction: Neurofeedback (NF) or electroencephalogram (EEG)-Biofeedback is a drug-free form of brain training to directly alter the underlying neural mechanisms of cognition and behavior. It is a technique that measures a subject's EEG signal, processes it in real time, with the goal to enable a behavioral modification by modulating brain activity. The most common application of the NF technology is in epilepsies, migraine, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, affective disorders, and psychotic disorders.

Knowledge and Self-Efficacy Assessment of Residents and Fellows Following Palliative Care Unit Rotation: A Pilot Study.

Background: In Germany, some units of specialized palliative care (SPC) offer a 6- to 12-month rotation for resident physicians (RPs) and fellows from different specialties.

Objective: This pilot study aimed to evaluate feasibility of assessing palliative care knowledge (PCK) and palliative care self-efficacy (PCSE) using a paper-based questionnaire.

Methods: Palliative care knowledge and PCSE were assessed by introducing a score, followed by a descriptive analysis (determination of frequency, mean, median, and range) using nonparametric tests (χ test, Mann-Whitney U test).

Predictors of outpatients' request for palliative care service at a medical oncology clinic of a German comprehensive cancer center.

Purpose: Early integration of palliative care (PC) is recommended. The determination of predictors for patients' request for PC may guide implementation in clinical practice. Toward this end, we analyzed the symptom burden and distress of cancer patients in outpatient care and examined their need and request for PC.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Quality of Life, and the Subjective Experience in Liver Transplant Recipients.

Objective: A high prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among transplant recipients has been associated with a low adherence to treatment and poor survival. It is crucial to detect and prevent the development of posttraumatic stress in transplant settings.

Methods: We examined the prevalence of posttraumatic stress symptoms in 3 liver transplant recipients by means of the Essen Trauma Inventory (ETI), a self-report questionnaire.

Standardized Evaluation of Candidates Before Liver Transplantation With the Transplant Evaluation Rating Scale.

Background: The Transplant Evaluation Rating Scale (TERS) was developed to provide a standardized evaluation of the psychosocial functioning of patients, before transplantation. Yet, the first 2 items of the TERS are based on psychiatric diagnoses referring to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)-III-R, which leads to a duplication of disorder-specific and symptom-specific contents, that makes it complex to rate. Moreover, the TERS has not been updated to DSM revisions and DSM is not used for the official clinical routine documentation in several European countries.

Integration of Clinical Examination, Self-Report, and Hair Ethyl Glucuronide Analysis for Evaluation of Patients With Alcoholic Liver Disease Prior to Liver Transplantation.

Context: A large proportion of liver transplants (LTXs) are performed due to alcoholic liver disease (ALD) in the final stage of organ insufficiency. In order to list patients for LTX, transplant centers commonly require 6 months abstinence from alcohol. However, significant differences have been reported between alcohol intake as indicated by self-report and biochemical markers of alcohol.

Resilience and quality of life in 161 living kidney donors before nephrectomy and in the aftermath of donation: a naturalistic single center study.

Background: Due to the shortage of cadaveric organs, living kidney donation has begun to serve as the most crucial organ pool. Transplant centers have a legitimate interest in expanding the pool of donors. A psychosocial evaluation is established in transplantation centers to prevent donors from possible emotional harm in the aftermath of donation.

Anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and fear of cancer progression in patients with melanoma in cancer aftercare.

Unlabelled: Several studies have described mental distress and anxiety in patients with melanoma. The findings of these studies varied from patients with a quality of life similar to the general population and those with increased mental distress. In the present study, we investigated anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and fear of cancer progression to gain a detailed picture of the burdens of these patients.

Influence of kinship on donors' mental burden in living donor liver transplantation.

In the context of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), German transplantation law stipulates that donor candidates should primarily be relatives of the recipients or persons with distinct and close relationships. In this study, we investigated the influence of the relationship between the donor and the recipient on the donor's emotional strain before transplantation. Donors were categorized according to the following subgroups: (1) parents donating for their children, (2) children donating for their parents, (3) siblings, (4) spouses, (5) other relatives, and (6) nonrelatives.

Mental and physical quality of life in actual living liver donors versus potential living liver donors: a prospective, controlled, multicenter study.

In a quasi-experimental design, we investigated the quality of life (QOL) in actual liver donors (n = 43) and potential liver donors (n = 33) before and 3 months after liver transplantation. This is the first study in this field combining a prospective design with an adequate control group. Potential donors served as a control group because they also had a relative in need of a liver transplant and were as emotionally involved with the recipient as actual donors, but they were not subjected to the donor operation.

[Screening for distress in women with breast cancer diagnosed for the first time: employment of HADS-D and PO-Bado].

Objectives: In the context of an intensification of efforts to ensure sufficient psychooncological care for breast-cancer patients, the discussion concerning valid psychometric screening instruments gains a special relevance.

Methods: The discriminant and diagnostic validity of HADS-D and PO-Bado were investigated in a sample of 123 women with breast cancer diagnosed for the first time.

Results: An ROC analysis revealed a cut-off score of greater than 9 for the subscale anxiety (sensitivity: 50%; specificity: 90%) for the use of HADS-D among breast cancer patients, whereas the recommended cut-off value was greater than 7 (sensitivity: 56%; specificity: 80%) for the subscale depression.

Depression and protective factors of mental health in people with hepatitis C: a questionnaire survey.

Background: Most studies investigating the effects of chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection on the central nervous system have focused on cognitive impairment or on the health-related quality of life, but only few on depression.

Objectives: This study investigated depression in HCV-infected people. Sense of coherence and social support were surveyed as protective factors of mental health.

Sense of coherence and social support predict living liver donors' emotional stress prior to living-donor liver transplantation.

The protection of the donors from physical or emotional harm has been a fundamental principle in living-donor liver donation from the beginning. Psychosomatic donor evaluation aims at the selection of eligible donors and the screening and exclusion of psychiatrically vulnerable donors. As clinical interviews may include subjective biases, efforts should be made to establish objective criteria for donor assessment.

Selection of donors for adult living-donor liver donation: results of the assessment of the first 205 donor candidates.

Psychosomatic assessment for living liver donors for adults has as yet not been described in detail. Between August 1998 and September 2003, 205 donor candidates were admitted for psychosomatic evaluation; 13.2% of whom (N=27) were excluded.

Psychological strain in urgent indications for living donor liver transplantation.

The ethical soundness of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in urgent indications is still under discussion. The aim of the survey was to investigate the psychological distress of donors in cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or acute liver failure (ALF). In a prospective multicenter study (n = 123), health-related quality of life (QOL), anxiety, and depression were measured.

[Stabilisation of abstinence by means of psychoeducation for patients with alcoholic liver disease awaiting liver transplantation].

Background: A manualised six-month psychoeducational intervention was conducted in patients with alcoholic liver disease and abstinence problems who were waiting for a transplantation.

Objectives: In a naturalistic design it was investigated whether the intervention could improve patients' alcohol abstinence.

Methods: Between January 2002 and November 2003, 72 patients were enrolled in the therapeutic intervention, 48 of whom participated in group therapy.

Quality of life and psychiatric complications after adult living donor liver transplantation.

We investigated the psychosocial effects of a right hepatectomy on donors for adult living donor liver transplantation (ALDLT). Questionnaires were sent to 66 actual donors, who had undergone ALDLT between August 1998 and September 2003, as well as to 139 potential donors, who had been examined as possible candidates for ALDLT; the latter had been excluded and had not undergone surgery. All actual donors reported full recovery within an average period of 14.