Emergency Department Visits Involving Hallucinogen Use and Risk of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder.

Importance: Interest in and use of hallucinogens has been increasing rapidly. While a frequently raised concern is that hallucinogens may be associated with an increased risk of psychosis, there are limited data on this association.

Objectives: To examine whether individuals with an emergency department (ED) visit involving hallucinogen use have an increased risk of developing a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD).

Clinical Characteristics of Inpatients with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder Treated with Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Population-Level Cross-Sectional Study: Titre: Caractéristiques cliniques des patients hospitalisés présentant un trouble du spectre de la schizophrénie et traités par électrochocs : Une étude de population transversale.

Objective: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an evidence-based treatment for schizophrenia when anti-psychotic medications do not sufficiently control symptoms of psychosis or rapid response is required. Little is known about how it is used in routine clinical practice. The aim of this study was to identify the association of demographic and clinical characteristics with administration of ECT for schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD).

Extended course accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation as a substitute for depressed patients needing electroconvulsive therapy.

In response to restrictions on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) access during COVID-19, we designed a trial to assess the clinical outcomes service impacts, employing an extended course of accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation (aiTBS), in patients with moderate to severe depression in need of ECT. This open label clinical trial was comprised of 3 phases: (i) an acute phase, where iTBS treatments were administered 8 times daily, for up to 10 days; (ii) a tapering phase of 2 treatment days per week for 2 weeks, followed by 1 treatment day per week for 2 weeks; and (iii) a symptom-based relapse prevention phase, whereby treatments were scheduled based on symptom re-emergence, for up to 6 months. Of the 155 patients who completed the acute phase of the study, the remission rate was 16.

Depressive symptom trajectories with prolonged rTMS treatment.

Background: A prolonged repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment course could be beneficial for some patients experiencing major depressive episodes (MDE). We identified trajectories of rTMS response in depressive patients who received an extended rTMS treatment course and sought to determine which trajectories achieved the greatest benefit with a prolonged treatment course.

Method: We applied group-based trajectory modeling to a naturalistic dataset of depressive patients receiving a prolonged course of sequential bilateral rTMS (up to 51 treatment sessions) to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Neuropsychological Assessments of Cognitive Impairment in Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis with Meta-Regression.

Introduction: Cognitive dysfunction or deficits are common in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). The current study systematically reviews and meta-analyzes multiple domains of cognitive impairment in patients with MDD.

Methods: PubMed/MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched from inception through May 17, 2023, with no language limits.

Twin pregnancy and severe maternal mental illness: a Canadian population-based cohort study.

Twin pregnancy is a risk factor for postpartum depression and anxiety. Whether this translates into a higher risk of severe maternal mental illness in the short-term or long-term is unknown. This study was a population-based retrospective cohort study, using linked health administrative databases for the entire province of Ontario, Canada.

Risk of serious medical events in patients with depression treated with electroconvulsive therapy: a propensity score-matched, retrospective cohort study.

Background: Previous studies examining the risk of medical complications from electroconvulsive therapy have been confounded and this might contribute to its underuse. This study aimed to compare the risk of serious medical events, defined as those resulting in hospitalisation or death, among patients with depression who received electroconvulsive therapy versus patients who did not receive electroconvulsive therapy.

Methods: This was a propensity score-matched, retrospective cohort study using linked population-based administrative health data for adults admitted to designated psychiatric facilities in Ontario, Canada, for more than 3 days with depression between April 1, 2007, to Feb 28, 2017.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in bipolar disorder: A systematic review.

Objectives: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is commonly used in unipolar depression; yet, its evidence in bipolar disorder (BD) is limited. We sought to review the evidence on the use of rTMS across the different stages of BD.

Methods: MEDLINE database was systematically searched using the PubMed interface following the PRISMA guidelines.

A practical overview and decision tool for analyzing recurrent events in mental illness: A review.

Mental illnesses are chronic conditions in which an individual will often experience recurrent outcomes such as hospitalization, symptomatic relapse or self-harm behaviours. Most clinical research in psychiatry considers only the first event, and does not analyze subsequent recurrent events. Methods exist to analyze recurrent events; however, these methods are underused in the psychiatric research literature.

Distinct trajectories of response to prefrontal tDCS in major depression: results from a 3-arm randomized controlled trial.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a safe, effective treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD). While antidepressant effects are heterogeneous, no studies have investigated trajectories of tDCS response. We characterized distinct improvement trajectories and associated baseline characteristics for patients treated with prefrontal tDCS, an active pharmacotherapy (escitalopram), and placebo.

Treatment Capacity and Clinical Outcomes for Patients With Schizophrenia Who Were Treated With Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Patients with schizophrenia are often found incapable to consent to psychiatric treatment. We evaluated clinical outcomes for incapable and capable patients with schizophrenia treated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Methods: We conducted a chart review of all inpatients treated with an acute course of ECT between 2010 and 2018 at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada.

Early symptomatic improvements as a predictor of response to repeated-dose intravenous ketamine: Results from the Canadian Rapid Treatment Center of Excellence.

Background: Early symptomatic improvement with monoamine-based antidepressants is predictive of treatment response. The objective of this study was to determine if early symptomatic improvements with intravenous (IV) ketamine predicted treatment response to an acute course of four infusions.

Method: 134 adults with treatment resistant depression (TRD) received four ketamine infusions over one to two weeks.

Patient-level Characteristics and Inequitable Access to Inpatient Electroconvulsive Therapy for Depression: A Population-based Cross-sectional Study: Caractéristiques au niveau du patient et accès inéquitable à la thérapie électroconvulsive pour patients hospitalisés.

Objective: A variety of patient characteristics drive the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in depression. However, the extent to which each characteristic influences the receipt of ECT, and whether they are appropriate, is unknown. The aim of this study is to identify patient-level characteristics associated with receiving inpatient ECT for depression.

Depressive symptom trajectories associated with standard and accelerated rTMS.

Background: To determine if an accelerated rTMS protocol results in distinct depressive symptom response trajectories, compared to a standard rTMS protocol. We also sought to validate previous analyses that identified distinct depressive symptom response trajectories with rTMS treatment using an external dataset.

Method: Data from two recent clinical trials comparing accelerated rTMS protocol delivered to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) with standard once-daily rTMS protocol were used to identify depressive symptom response trajectories.

Clinical Effectiveness of Maintenance Electroconvulsive Therapy in Patients with Schizophrenia: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the clinical effectiveness and cognitive effects of maintenance electroconvulsive therapy (mECT) in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and explore factors associated with both outcomes.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we examined clinical records of 47 patients with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition) diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder treated with mECT at an academic mental health hospital between April 2010 and July 2016. Sixty-two mECT courses were reviewed.

Post-traumatic stress and cancer: Findings from a cross-sectional nationally representative sample.

Objective: Trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been associated with a variety of physical conditions; however, their relationship with cancer is unclear.

Methods: Using the cross-sectional 2012-2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC-III; N = 36,309), we examined the association between trauma, PTSD and cancer (breast, gastrointestinal, 'other', and 'any'). Respondents were categorized into three groups: no-trauma, trauma-exposed, and PTSD using DSM-5 criteria.

Trajectories of Response to Dorsolateral Prefrontal rTMS in Major Depression: A THREE-D Study.

Objective: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is an effective treatment for refractory major depressive disorder, yet no studies have characterized trajectories of rTMS response. The aim of this study was to characterize response trajectories for patients with major depression undergoing left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex rTMS and to determine associated baseline clinical characteristics.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of a randomized noninferiority trial (N=388) comparing conventional 10-Hz rTMS and intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) rTMS.